


Snake Eyes

by Spunky0ne



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2014-10-01
Packaged: 2018-01-07 04:14:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1115372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spunky0ne/pseuds/Spunky0ne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gin wakes up in the Rukongai after being healed by Orihime, and finds that a strange voice is speaking to him in his mind. What it asks of him, he would never want to do, but it seems he can't resist. Drawn like a moth to a flame, he circles back towards the man who was his lover and his executioner. But will fate be enough to save him when Aizen is freed?...Aizen/Gin mpreg</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

XXXXXXXXXX

_Always, my eyes watched you...from a distance, from out of the darkness, from the shadows. I slithered closer and watched you smile as I wrapped myself around you. With your eyes locked on mine and both our bodies enchanted and swaying, just who was the snake? And who was the victim?_

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 1: Rukongai Souls

Gin felt a cool, wet cloth brush over his face and heard soft, feminine voices conversing over him.

"He should regain consciousness soon," said a voice he recognized as the human girl, Orihime, "He'll be all right now."

"Thank you," said Rangiku's voice, "I know that he was one of the ones who was responsible for Aizen holding you hostage..."

"Don't worry about that," Orihime said soothingly, "We know now that he wasn't really with Aizen. But...even if he was, at the end he tried to stop him. And even if not for that, what Aizen did to him was horrible. He didn't deserve to die that way."

 _Oh_ , Gin groaned inwardly, _but, having failed that way, I did get what I deserved. That man is still alive and he still did not give back what he stole from her..._

"I wish that Central 46 felt the same," Rangiku said softly, "They won't even consider clearing him of charges. If they knew he was alive, they would just have him killed. Unlike that bastard Aizen, Gin can die. And they want to kill someone. It's good for Tousen that he died in the fighting as well."

Gin didn't hear Orihime give an answer, but he knew her well enough that she probably wouldn't wish anyone dead, ever.

_Not even the devil, himself._

He was surprised that thinking of the word 'devil' no longer conjured Aizen's image in his mind. That was certainly the impression that he'd had of the man as he had meticulously prepared his plans against the monarchy, then carried them out in an equally choreographed set of moves.

_And we all danced around him, like pieces on a chess board that he was moving...even me. Yes, he even anticipated my betrayal, though not the exact moment or way in which I would betray him._

There was an odd, dark inward thrill that he encountered, thinking about that.

_But then, as much as I hated him stealing that piece of Rangiku's soul, something very different from hatred began to form while we were in Las Noches. No...even before that._

He suffered a sharp, sudden flash of memory.

_Aizen's hand reached out and curved around his cheek, and Gin felt as though the floor had fallen away beneath him._

_"What was that you said when we met, Gin?" the smooth, deceptively gentle voice said, "You said that you were a snake? Well...it just so happens that I have a very deep fascination with snakes. If you desire it, now that you have come of age, we can begin to explore that fascination."_

_He hadn't a moment to think about what the man was going to do. Like a snake striking, Aizen's mouth was fastened on his and bit down indulgently, sending strange, mingled waves of slight pain and intense throbs of arousal through Gin's reeling body. He didn't feel when he was taken down onto the bed, and only felt the light sting of the other man's fingernails as he was hastily laid bare. Strong, searching hands roamed over his flesh, touching him everywhere, neither asking, nor demanding, but calmly taking what they willed and making him writhe brazenly beneath them._

_"You see," said Aizen's silken voice in his ear, "I have a gift for handling dangerous things, Gin."_

_Gin hadn't planned to ever sleep with the man, but there was no stopping him as he invaded the younger shinigami's slender body, first with insistent fingers, then with his painfully hot and swollen member. He was not rushed, but every moment of his entry into Gin's body was sweet agony...a test of his strength, perhaps. Gin clenched his teeth and panted harshly, but let no cry escape him. And when Aizen's eyes found his, he let a slow smile spread onto his face._

_"I am glad to see that this pleases you," Aizen said, holding himself still as Gin's body shook softly and struggled to adjust, "I was worried that I had misunderstood you."_

_"You understood me perfectly," Gin assured him breathlessly, "You are good with snakes."_

_Words left him again as Aizen's body moved, sending jolts of mixed pain and pleasure, and exciting soft sounds of pleasure from somewhere deep in his chest. There was something that belied the gentle face that still looked down at him, so albeit reckless, he decided to cross a boundary he imagined no one had before._

_"I have shown you my true face," he panted, hanging on to the man's shoulders and opening his eyes a bit wider, "Why don't you show me yours?"_

_Aizen paused, admiring the bright flecks of blue that peeked up at him through Gin's partly opened eyes, and loosing an enigmatic smile._

_"You are more perceptive than most, Gin. Truly, you are the prodigy they said you were...though a trifle more wicked than they imagined, ne?"_

_"Is that a problem for you, Aizen taichou?" Gin asked, flinching as the man reached up and removed his glasses._

_It wasn't, Gin thought, just that his eyes had been uncovered. As though a shade had been drawn back, a more wickedly handsome and crafty looking face laid beneath the surface illusion._

_And that's what this is, Gin thought to himself, It is not reflections to confuse, this is a greater, more dangerous power he has._

_"Is that better?" Aizen asked, drawing a breathy moan from between Gin's parted lips as he began moving again._

_"Hai, Aizen taichou," Gin whispered feverishly, "Much...better!"_

_He went quiet, then, letting his eyes slide shut again and feeling the deep penetration of his body by the other man's. He hadn't considered himself to be a homosexual and still didn't. Indeed, he had partaken of some pleasures with Rangiku from time to time, so he knew that it wasn't that he preferred males in general. But there was something about this man...this man he had gotten close to so that he could kill him. He was like no one Gin had ever encountered, and every moment in his presence was a game with deadly consequences. But it was hard to worry about those possible consequences while being made love to by Aizen Sousuke._

"You're going to be all right now," Rangiku's voice whispered as she washed his face gently again.

_Something feels different about her..._

He tried to open his eyes, but found he was still too weak. Instead, he loosed a tiny flicker of reiatsu, then reeled at what returned to him.

_Her soul...that piece he took from her! >_

_It is...returned?_

His mind flashed back to the few moments when he had held the hougyoku tightly in his hand, then opened it to look down at the artifact.

_What was that I heard?_

_Just before he reappeared, it said something to me._

_"It will be as you wish."_

_Then..._

He shivered under Rangiku's hands, earning a sigh and the touch of her hand on his.

"Yes, she healed all of you," Rangiku went on, "Even that."

_Something else has been healed, Rangiku, but by whom? Was it the hougyoku? But Sousuke said that he controlled it. Surely he would not have given me such a gift in the midst of my undoing._

_What happened, then?_

"Gin, I want to thank you."

_For what?_

"I know it sounds strange, but...I understand now, why you left the way you did. You didn't want Kira and me hanging on to the memory of you. You wanted us to move forward. And you will be glad to know I have. I don't know if you realized it, but that day...the day Aizen was captured, something happened to me. It was while I was with you that I felt something inside...something that I hadn't felt in a really long time. And when everything was done and I returned to be checked out at the fourth division, Unohana taichou said that whatever had held me back from achieving bankai for so long had disappeared! I have reached manifestation."

_Ah...!_

"I wouldn't have done that without you, Gin."

_But, I had nothing to do with that. It was either the hougyoku or Sousuke...or both._

"I want you to be the first to see it when I achieve it. So, rest. Get well again. We are safe here in the lower Rukongai. There are few patrols that venture down here, and no one asks questions. Just...stay here and get stronger. I will come to you when I can. The healer will stay with you until you can take care of yourself. Behave for him, okay?"

Gin dropped back into a deep sleep, dreaming more contentedly, now that Aizen was behind bars and his mission to recover the missing piece of his friend's soul was done. Yet, even though his dreams were pleasant, something else broke through that reached down inside him and resonated more strongly.

_Ah, you can hear me again. Listen carefully, then, Ichimaru Gin. I know that you have discovered the action I took the day that Aizen Sousuke took your life. You have wondered, I am aware, whether it was his will or mine that gave back what was taken...but neither answer was correct._

"What?" Gin whispered softly, his eyes widening as the shining hougyoku appeared before him, "What do you mean?"

_You know what I mean. It was not my will or Aizen Sousuke's that caused that girl's soul to be restored._

"Then...?"

_It was yours._

"M-mine?" Gin breathed, "How could that be? He said that he still commanded you."

"I did wonder when he claimed to be in control. But things still happened that I know he didn't specifically will to happen."

_Yes. He commanded me in part. But...I could still respond to the souls around me. I could still give them their desires as well. And I also could act on my own._

"Fascinating..."

_I had a choice about the desires that I granted...and even as I fell under the seal, I granted one last desire...yours._

"But...why?"

_You will discover that in time. But let me give you something to think on. Gin, why do you think that you hear my voice?_

"Because this is a dream?"

_No. This is not a dream. And you heard me before, did you not?_

"I was holding you in my hand."

_You would have heard me, even if you had not been touching me. Such is the power of the bond between you._

"The bond...between...me and who?"

_Aizen Sousuke...your soul bonded._

"My...what?"

_He is your soul bonded. This was made so when your souls were created. That is why your paths eventually crossed and you became lovers._

"I never loved Aizen Sousuke," Gin objected, knowing even as he said the words, that they were a lie.

_You are lying. You loved him, and you became conflicted in what you intended...so conflicted that even had I not protected Aizen from your blade's poison, it would not have killed him._

"But it...?"

_He would have overcome it, in the end. You struck with less than proper intent. And you know why._

"I do not love Aizen Sousuke," Gin said again.

_It does not matter that you feel this way. What you feel for him is even deeper, and it will bring you back to him._

"Why are you telling me this?"

_I am putting you on the path. This is the will of my true master, Ichimaru Gin._

"Who is your...?"

_That does not matter. What matters is that you do what I say. Wait until night has fallen. Then, return to where Aizen was captured. In the ruins of the battlefield, you will find the shattered sword he wielded. Go and find Kyouka Suigetsu...then quickly return here and heal him._

Gin let out a soft, disbelieving breath.

"I do not want to have anything to do with any part of him."

_That is a lie._

Gin woke suddenly.

He found himself alone, except for the sleeping healer, who occupied a bed on the other side of the room. His body still ached, but he found that he was able to move, even to sit up. He sipped briefly at a cup of water that had been left at his bedside, then rose onto shaky legs and walked to the window. Looking out, his eyes came to rest on a lovely, full moon. And it made him feel good to know that Aizen Sousuke could not look out and see the moon from the depths of Muken, where Rangiku had said he was taken.

But even as his mind took on the thought, he felt a restlessness inside.

_Go and find Kyouka Suigetsu...then quickly return here and heal him._

"Why would I even consider doing such a thing?" he whispered to himself.

He tried to think of other things, but the hougyoku's voice refused to leave his mind. He left the small house, walking out into the night and acquainting himself with the area he was in. It wasn't far, he realized suddenly, from the place where the battle had been waged. And before he registered what he was doing, he began to walk slowly in that direction.

 _I heard her say that it disintegrated_ , he told himself, _There isn't anything left. And if there was, why would I even consider healing him? He was a part of Aizen's plan._

But there was something about that thought that suggested it was a lie...or at least a misunderstanding.

_After all, if Kyouka Suigetsu was, indeed, abandoned, then how much of a part of Sousuke's plans could he have been? And how interested would he be in being healed now? Wouldn't it be better to let that tortured soul die?_

He remembered, then the way it felt to have that sword's power wrap around him. He had always rather enjoyed the way it felt...as though it brought him that much closer to Sousuke.

_But, why would I still feel a desire for that now? Everything broke apart then, when I betrayed him._

But that seemed a lie too.

Gin moved forward, noting the scorch marks on the ground as he reached the place in question. He reached out with his senses and was shocked at how quickly the fragments of Kyouka Suigetsu responded. As though not of his own accord, Gin moved quickly to the place and knelt, retrieving the small pieces of the sword that he could find, then abandoning the sight and fleeing back to his new home.

The healer, he found, was still sleeping. So Gin sat down on the bed and contemplated the pieces of Aizen's blade, before wrapping them carefully in some of the extra bandages and slipping them underneath his mattress. He laid back down and was surprised to find that sleep came more easily this time.

And when he woke in the morning, he found that his body seemed to have been completely restored.

The healer examined him thoroughly, his aged face evincing disbelief. But finally, he nodded in approval and left, giving the silver-haired man an admonishment to rest. Gin returned to his bed and started to reach under the mattress, then frowned as his hand found something hard. He pulled gently and found himself looking at...

Aizen Sousuke's fully healed sword.


	2. The Secret Inside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gin receives shocking news that puts him on a dangerous path.

Gin stared in surprise at Aizen's restored zanpakutou, shivering inside as he remembered it penetrating his body as the hougyoku possessed Aizen sought to kill him. He dropped the weapon and stepped back, watching it fall to the floor, then gazing down at it darkly.

 _How did this happen?_ he wondered inwardly, _It was in pieces when I laid down to sleep. No one was here but me, and even if I didn't have concerns about bringing it back, I don't wield the power right now to restore it!_

_What happened?_

A chill shot through him as a low, eerily calm male voice sounded in his mind.

_Gin._

The silver-haired shinigami's eyes widened and he took another step back from the fallen sword.

_I understand your feelings. I was used to kill you. If not for Inoue Orihime's power, you would have met the end that my master chose for you. But, I am glad that you did not._

Gin continued to stare at Kyouka Suigetsu, spellbound by the zanpakutou's return and even more stunned it was speaking to him.

_Don't you wonder why that is so?_

"Maybe," Gin answered finally, "But I couldn't believe your explanation if you gave me one."

_Certainly not right now, the sword's spirit acknowledged, but you will come to understand soon. What you need to know is that I chose that if I should survive, I would find my way to you._

"Hmmm, well as curious as that makes me, I am not about to trust you."

_You don't have to trust me. But I hope you will listen. Will you at least consider what I have to say? If you hear it and choose not to believe me, then you are welcome to walk away._

Gin stepped back in the direction of the sword, then paused for a moment, before taking it by the hilt and lifting it. He wondered at the ache of longing that welled up inside, being close to any part of Aizen again.

_The man tried to kill me._

_Why, then?_

_Why do I still...?_

He quivered inside at the warm, gentle brushing of Kyouka Suigetsu's mind against his. He had to admit to himself that he had loved the feel of the powerful spirit's presence being so close to him when he shared Aizen's company.

You remember now, don't you? the spirit asked suddenly, making Gin freeze and close his eyes, Yes, at the moment I penetrated your body, Gin, you felt that I did not want to kill you. And what's more, you sensed that the hougyoku too, did not want you to die. My master struck at you to make you pay for your betrayal. But what neither of you realized was that your fates had been manipulated. You were set up to be killed by him.

"What? What are you telling me?" Gin whispered, sitting down on the bed.

_I need to bring you to my master's inner world. Only there will it be safe to speak openly with you._

"Oh, I don't think so," Gin said, shaking his head and trying to let go of the sword.

He gasped in surprise as the scene around him suddenly flickered, and he felt himself drawn away from the small cottage in the Rukongai.

Gin found himself sitting at the top of a small rise, under a large oak tree, and looking down into a lovely blue pond. On the pond's softly rippling surface, he saw, not his own reflection, but the reflection of a tall, slender, aristocratic looking young man with deep, lively green eyes, black hair and a sad, weary look about his handsome face. He gazed up at Gin quietly, waiting for some kind of response.

"Well," Gin said, gathering himself, "You went to the trouble of bringing me here. But why? I have never heard of anyone..."

"Yes," the spirit said softly, "You have."

Gin remembered, then, his dream of the hougyoku speaking to him, telling him that his soul had been bound to Aizen's when their souls were made.

"You are going to tell me that I am soul bonded to him? Like the hougyoku said in my dream?"

"That was not a dream, Gin," Kyouka Suigetsu told him, "You are my master's soul bonded. That is why I can bring you here."

He paused and looked up into the cloudy sky.

"It is also why you were set up to be killed."

"What?" Gin asked, blinking in surprise, "I don't understand. You mean your master set me up because he figured out I would betray him, ne?"

"No," the spirit said, "Aizen Sousuke was not the one who set you up. He was also set up to die. Only the hougyoku prevents him from dying."

"And why do you think I would ever want to help that man?" Gin asked, turning away, "He stole a piece of my friend's soul! He hurt her and I only got close to him to..."

"That is a lie," Kyouka Suigetsu said firmly, "Although you did, indeed, use that as your reason for getting close to him, and you did plot against him and even tried to kill him, your interactions with him affected you and made your resolve weaken. And in the end, you did not really want him to die."

"But...!"

"Gin, wasn't your greatest concern always getting that piece of Rangiku's soul back?"

"Yes," Gin admitted, "But it was also exacting revenge for him taking it. And when the time came, I struck to kill."

"Yes, but your heart was not behind it," Kyouka Suigetsu insisted, "Look inside yourself. See the truth that would not have happened if you were not soul bonded to my master!"

Gin stared in surprise as the surface of the water rippled and an image of Gin appeared on the surface.

"What is this?" Gin whispered, staring at the image and watching raptly as 'Gin' in the image rubbed his somewhat rounded belly and smiled, "Why are you doing this? Let me out of here at once!"

The scene around Gin broke apart and he found himself sitting on his bed with Kyouka Suigetsu lying on the bed in front of him. He looked down at his belly and felt an odd sense of relief that it looked normal.

_I don't want to think about what would happen if...if I could be..._

_I can't be, ne?_

_I know for a fact I am male and I have never heard of a male impregnating another male._

A thought occurred to him and Gin stiffened, staring at Kyouka Suigetsu and not daring to ask the question. But he was already remembering the last night with Aizen, and thinking back, it would have made chilling, but perfect sense.

_He opened the door to Aizen's bedroom and found it empty. But the door to the balcony was open, so he moved forward and stepped outside._

_Aizen stood on the balcony, leaned against the railing and gazing quietly up at the crescent moon. He lifted one hand and brought a glass of red wine to his lips, sipping, then lowering it again._

_"Sousuke," Gin said softly, not wanting to disturb the man, but feeling a particular longing for connection._

_He knew that the next day would be the last. It would be the end of everything. But even though that time was coming, he wished that things could be simpler between them. He wondered suddenly if Aizen could be feeling the same._

_But he couldn't know._

_He couldn't have guessed or Gin was sure that Aizen would have killed him._

_But Aizen didn't have the dangerous gleam in his eye that usually warned of coming violence. Instead, he looked unusually weary, even pensive. Gin was instantly curious._

_"Gin," Aizen said invitingly, coaxing the silver-haired man into the warm space between the railing and his body._

_Aizen set his wine glass on the railing and wrapped his arms around the younger man, holding him more tightly than usual, and exploring his white throat more tenderly. He fed Gin the last mouthful of the wine, then sank into his mouth over Gin's shoulder, lingering and sucking lazily at his tongue, then returning to his throat again. And as he treasured the pale flesh, his hands slid down and pulled free the tie at the younger man's waist. One hand reached around him, coming to rest on his lower abdomen, while the other sought his privates and began to manipulate them gently._

_"I am beginning to be glad that you talked me into having day and night cycle around the fortress, rather than making it always daytime here," Aizen commented, "Although darkness can staunch happiness, sometimes I think we want darkness to hide the things we don't want to see. Do you know what I mean, Gin?"_

_"Ah, I think I do," Gin answered, moving his hips slightly as Aizen's hand continued to pleasure him, "Aizen Sousuke wishes that things could be more simple, ne? But could that be true? Somehow, I don't think that a wife and children would be enough to hold your interest."_

_"Maybe not," Aizen agreed, "But you understand the desire, don't you?"_

_"I believe we all have the desire for the simple things sometimes," Gin concluded, "But we are not simple people."_

_He caught his breath softly as he realized that Aizen's warm hand was caressing his belly gently as he brought the silver-haired man to a deeper state of arousal._

_"No," Aizen breathed in his ear, sending the scent of the wine back across his senses and making him feel light-headed, "We are not simple people. Still, we do seek simplicity, even now. For example, have you given thought to what we will do when I become king?"_

_"You know I am not so sentimental, nor do I trust in the future."_

_"I know you don't usually," Aizen said, pressing up against his backside and letting Gin feel his hot, thickened arousal, "But, why don't you indulge me and think about it now? If you could have anything you want after I'm king, what would it be?"_

_Gin would have thought that the first thing to enter his head would be that Rangiku's soul would be healed. But the vision that passed before his eyes was stunning. And while he was reeling with the force of it, Aizen suddenly abandoned his gentleness and pressed harder, up against Gin's slender back, tugging his yukata out of the way and entering him from behind._

_Gin gave a breathy, surprised cry at the sudden invasion, then was nearly swept off his feet by the way the other man's thrusts became so hard and eager, but the hands that caressed his belly and stroked his privates remained gentler and more affectionate...almost hopeful. Gin blushed at how quickly the blending of tenderness and power undid him. He pressed back into Aizen's muscular chest, closing his eyes and moaning wantonly. And as the strong, beautiful shudders of orgasm swept through him, Aizen's voice sounded in his ear, making everything around the two disappear._

_"What no one understands is that I am seeking simplicity too. There is something I want very much that you will give me when I am king. That, I will promise you, Gin. Only stay with me..."_

Gin bit at his lips, forcing away the memory.

_It was all a lie. He didn't want me. He knew I was deceiving him and he wanted to make it harder for me to do it!_

But every time that interaction replayed in his mind, he was stricken again with how Aizen's words had seemed so much like a confession of love.

_But he didn't love me and I didn't love him._

_And what we were dreaming about in that moment doesn't matter. We betrayed each other. And now, he is in that dark, hateful place and I have to remain in hiding or I will be killed for defecting with him. It is over. Those dreams are over. ___

He swallowed hard and glanced at Kyouka Suigetsu, where the sheathed blade still rested on the bed. Letting out a short, annoyed breath, he picked up the sword and started to shove it beneath his mattress again. But, as he touched it, Kyouka Suigetsu's voice whispered into his mind again. And the words sent a jolt through him.

_He used the hougyoku that night, Gin. And because it was in both of your hearts, it happened as you willed it!_

Gin buried the sword beneath the mattress and tried to lie down again to make the thought go away.

_It can't be. I can't be pregnant! It's just not possible._

_Though...neither was destroying the barrier between shinigami and hollow..._

_But it can't have happened! Aizen Sousuke never loved me. He knew I would betray him and he planned for that. Why would he plan for me to betray him, but make a child with me when he was just going to kill me?_

He nearly cried out in agony as Kyouka Suigetsu's voice touched his mind again.

_It is true that Aizen Sousuke knew you were planning to betray him. But he was weak with emotion that night and let his guard down with you. You and he both dreamed of the same thing that night. And when you made love, you made a child together. But your betrayal stung him, and he decided that your mutual dream was just that...a dream. And it was a dream he chose, then, to end with his blade. He put me into your heart, Gin, because you broke what was left of his._

For some reason he couldn't fathom, the words seemed unbearable.

Gin flew from the bed and fled out into the dirty streets, running to the end of town before calming enough to slow to a walk. He found a gently gurgling brook and followed the path alongside it, trying to focus on the trees or the sounds of the birds...anything to keep him from thinking about Kyouka Suigetsu's words.

_Because it can't be true._

_He and I could not have wished for that._

_It couldn't have happened._

_I could not be carrying his child._

_No..._

He came to a place where the water had pooled and become more calm. Gazing down at his reflection, he slipped a hand beneath his yukata and rested it lightly on his abdomen.

_There would be some kind of sign if that was true...a reiatsu signal...something!_

A chill ran down his spine as he sent a soft pulse of his own reiatsu into the area and felt a soft, sweet flutter in return.

_Oh my kami, no!_

There wasn't anywhere he could run, then, he knew. Because, if it was true, then it explained why Kyouka Suigetsu and the hougyoku could talk to him. It explained how Aizen was feeling that last night, and what his true emotions about Gin were. And it explained why, even now, with things being hopelessly bad, there was new hope for him.

 _Yes_ , whispered Kyouka Suigetsu's voice in his mind as the sword's spirit appeared on the surface of the pooled water in front of him, _You see, Gin. You know the truth of things. And now that you do, you must be careful._

"Why do I need to be careful?" Gin sighed, "Sousuke is in Muken. Or do you mean that I have to be careful not to be captured, myself? I already knew that."

_That is not what I mean, Kyouka Suigetsu went on, You have another enemy, a very powerful one. And if he realizes that you and the child have survived, then he will undoubtedly kill you._

"But why hasn't he sensed me already?" Gin asked, frowning.

_Your reiatsu diminished when you died. And when Orihime brought you back, it remained low for a time. But it was beginning to be restored when you found me...and I acted to conceal it._

"You...?"

_If you do not make it obvious, then I can keep you hidden. Your enemy thinks that you are dead and no longer a threat. He thinks that Aizen Sousuke is unable to break free of Muken, so he feels safe. But...because your ally gave Aizen the ability to create the hougyoku, you and he are more of a threat than he knows._

"He who?" asked Gin.

_Who do you think? asked the spirit, Your enemy is the soul king._

"Hmmm, I should have figured," muttered Gin, "And who is our ally? The devil himself?"

He didn't particularly like the smile that Kyouka Suigetsu gave him.

_Our benefactor is..._

Gin's eyes widened and his face blanched as the spirit went on. He barely registered anything more, but stared blankly into the water, not believing what he had heard.

 _Now_ , Kyouka Suigetsu said, earning a deeper frown from Gin, _The time has come._

"Dare I ask, for what?" Gin mused.

_We must help him to escape._


	3. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gin and Kyouka Suigetsu go to Central 46 to free Aizen.

"I don't know how you convinced me to do this!" Gin said softly, as he walked, unseen, past the guards at the entrance to the Seireitei, "This is insane! There are so many people here who have not been hypnotized by you. We could be seen..."

_Only if someone knew to look more closely, but you look just like any other simple, unseated shinigami. We fit in, Kyouka Suigetsu answered, Remember that full control of my target's senses must be gained using the hypnosis ritual, but my innate ability is the power of suggestion and deception. As you can see, most people do not bother to look closely enough to be of concern to us._

"Well, that surprises me," Gin said, shaking his head, "With the war barely over, I would think that their defenses would be up. But then, with Aizen behind bars, what have they got that would be anywhere near as much of a threat, ne?"

_Yes, exactly. They have relaxed their guard, here in the Seireitei, even though security remains tight in the living world, where cleansing is going on, and around Central 46._

"Then, how do you plan for us to get inside?" Gin asked, frowning, "Assuming they will be on guard, how will we get past their security and reach him?"

Gin could almost feel that if the sword's soul was a live person, he would be smirking.

_Leave that to me._

"How did I know you would say that?" Gin said dryly.

_Because you know my master well. I am only an extension of his soul, just as Shinzou is an extension of yours._

The mention of his own zanpakutou sent a pained jolt through Gin's midsection.

 _Don't worry_ , Kyouka Suigetsu assured him, as though reading his thoughts, _He will be back. Remember that you almost died. It is going to take some time for him to regain his strength. But during that time while the two of you fully recover, you will have me to protect you. And do not forget, you will have him as well._

"If he doesn't just decide to kill me again," Gin sighed, "Sousuke isn't known for trusting easily. And where he has been betrayed, he would certainly never trust again."

_He will be resistant, and until the meeting with our benefactor, you must not reveal the name of the one whom we are taking him to. That person alone must reveal the truth to him. Only then will he be able to brace the soul king._

"This is so strange," Gin muttered, shaking his head, "Everything is upside down. As much as I went with him and seemed to support him, I never really wanted him to kill the king. I didn't even care if he lived or died."

_Yes, you did._

"What are you saying? I tried to kill the man!"

_But you also saved his life before he and the hougyoku were fused. Do you remember, Gin?_

"Ah..."

_He stood on the balcony outside Aizen's bedroom, looking up at the moon and frowning as Rangiku returned to his mind. He knew he should just have returned to Aizen's bed, but as the days of their time in Hueco Mundo wound down, he was finding it harder and harder to continue deceiving the shinigami traitor._

_"Snakes aren't supposed to have hearts," he whispered, to remind himself, "I am here for one reason and one reason alone. I must focus on that. I must focus on..."_

_He was taken out of his thoughts as he heard a very soft click and an even softer footstep. Within the room, Aizen sighed in his sleep._

_"Gin..."_

_And in that moment, all thought left Gin's mind. Before he realized what had happened, he had flash stepped back into the room and Shinzou was in his hand and releasing. The blade sank into the chest of the assassin, and with his deadly eyes glaring into Gins, the man slid to the floor._

_For a moment, Gin and the awakened Aizen gazed in surprise, into each others' eyes, each feeling the weight of what had happened. Then, Gin slid his weapon back into its sheath and gave Aizen his trademark smirk._

_"You'll want to be a little more on your guard, I think," he commented, trying not to let on the shiver that had come into his heart, "You should expect that people will go to great lengths to kill you."_

_Aizen smiled and extended a hand, welcoming the silver-haired man back into his bed as more guards entered the room and dragged away the body of Aizen's attacker._

_"Come, Gin," Aizen said warmly, "Lie down with me. I am a much less tempting target with a snake curled around my body, ne?"_

"That was a whim. It was just..."

_Instinct. You did not want him to die._

"I..."

_Come, Gin, you must focus completely on your task. We must free him, and the shinigamis must not sound the alarm...not yet. As soon as the soul king knows that Aizen has escaped, he will stop at nothing to retrieve him. And if he finds out that we are the ones who freed him, he will make sure that we pay for it. Remember, you are in a precarious position when it comes to him, Gin._

"So you told me before," Gin acknowledged, slowing as he reached a growth of trees, just short of the Central 46 chambers.

Memories flooded back then...of his entry with Aizen into that place, of watching silently as Aizen used his powers to blind the councilors to his presence, then murdered them one by one.

 _There was only one word for him then_ , Gin remembered, _He was a monster. But...it was a monster that was made by an even greater one. And while Sousuke may not be beyond redemption, the soul king is. He started all of this._

_He set it all into motion._

_He deserves to die._

Gin moved forward slowly, swallowing hard as the sentries met his eyes for a moment, then nodded briefly in greeting and let him pass.

_Amazing._

_But then, they think that Kyouka Suigetsu is dead._

_They think I am dead._

,em>And even if they knew that I lived, they would not believe that I would return to him. I don't believe it. But then, nothing between the two of us has ever been simple, has it?

He proceeded through the hallways, remembering perfectly from being there before, how to reach the entrance to the prison levels. He stopped at the first checkpoint and watched as the guard looked at an identification badge that was only a false image.

"Go ahead, sir," the guard said, nodding.

Gin walked on, amazed all over again that, even after the betrayal from before, Central 46 was so terribly unprepared for Aizen's power. Although, again, they thought it to have diminished. But even so, Aizen Sousuke wasn't the only traitor that had ever existed. He was just the only one powerful enough to completely bypass the defenses of this place that was like a fortress. A smirk came to his lips at just how easy it was for a snake to enter even a well guarded fortress.

He continued on, passing each checkpoint without challenge and coming into the lowest level.

_I can't believe I'm here._

His heart pounded fiercely in his chest as he left the final checkpoint and approached Aizen's cell.

_I can't believe I'm doing this._

_It is the last thing I thought I would ever do._

He reached the door and paused, shivering at the coldness of the environs and the dark presence of the imprisoned man he was going to see. Already, he felt Aizen's heavy reiatsu. Even sealed away, it was palpable...almost suffocating. He forced out a breath and pushed open the door to the cell, entering and keeping his eyes lowered until he had reached the prisoner and stood only a few scant steps from him.

He was surprised when he looked up, to find that both eyes had been covered, and his mouth as well.

"You must have misbehaved, ne?" he said, smirking as he uncovered, first, Aizen's mouth, then his eyes.

The dark brown eyes blinked slowly, then focused on him and widened and darkened.

"Gin," he said in a low, deadly voice, "So...you are alive. And...free?"

Gin looked back at him, still reeling at being so close to the man again and unable to answer.

"I see. I must admit that I am surprised that they wouldn't have just killed you. I certainly can't imagine this group of fools ever welcoming you back into the fold, even after you revealed your true colors and tried to kill me."

"I think they would have been more willing to consider it if I had been successful," Gin answered, his heart still pounding madly and sweat breaking out on his forehead, "But alas, I underestimated you."

"Yes."

A long silence passed between the two.

"But if you are not with them, then how did you get inside the prison? And in addition to that, why would you come here?"

Gin gazed back at him wordlessly, his heart beating harder and dizziness sweeping over him as the moment of reveal arrived. He reached into his cloak and took hold of Kyouka Suigetsu, drawing the sword and holding it out in front of him. Aizen's eyes widened in surprise and his smile grew more predatory.

"Oh. so you are not the only one who unexpectedly survived!" the prisoner exclaimed, "And I see that my zanpakutou was able to find his way to you. He overcame you, then? He controls you? Why Kyouka Suigetsu, I am touched."

Gin sucked in a surprised breath as the zanpakutou spirit slowly materialized at his side.

"I do not control Gin," he said calmly, "He came to the battlefield and found the broken pieces of me."

"Gin...saved you?" Aizen queried, sounding surprised.

"No. It was not Gin who saved me."

"Then...?"

"When you began to transform...when you transcended and I began to crumble, a power from within the hougyoku prevented me from dying. I laid on the battlefield as you were defeated and sealed away. And as the hougyoku fell under the seal, it used a last flicker of power to sustain me. In that last moment, it revealed to me that I must find my way to Ichimaru Gin, and that we must come to you and bring you secretly to the spirit dimension."

_It is as he says, the hougyoku whispered into Aizen's mind, making the prisoner flinch uncomfortably._

"So, you choose to speak to me again? I thought that I was beneath you."

_You did fail in your mission to become king. But all is not lost. It was, however, necessary to wait until the right time to awaken. We must be cautious. You have a powerful enemy who, unlike the shinigamis, does have it within his abilities to kill you. And although you are protected by my powers and are immune to most deadly things, Gin is not. And if you still want to win your crown, you need him to remain alive._

"I need him?" Aizen repeated, frowning, "Why would I need Gin? He is nothing but a backstabbing snake. I only kept him near me because I wanted to use him to help me evolve. You know that."

_I know that is what you think. But your feelings about this do not matter. Gin is important and must be protected._

"And why should I listen to you, who failed me and left me bound and imprisoned in this cell?"

_You should listen to me because I know that you do not want to remain in this cell. The longer you are here, the more time your enemy has to find the way to kill you. And believe me, before your time is served, he will discover the way. You need to escape and make your way to the spirit dimension. The one who waits for you there will explain things in full._

Aizen's eyes narrowed.

"And why do you not explain now? What are you hiding, hougyoku?"

_Only what I must until we are under our benefactor's protection. But it is your choice, of course. You can stay here and wait for the soul king to learn the way to destroy you or you can come with Gin, Kyouka Suigetsu and me and we can travel to the royal realm. The way will be dangerous. We will not be able to use the direct path, but must use the precipice world and enter by way of a secret pocket dimension that has been opened for you._

"Ah, then, by all means, release my bonds," Aizen agreed, "We should leave quickly, ne?"

Gin remained standing in front of the prisoner, his blue eyes slitted and his lips frowning.

_Gin?_

"As soon as I release him, he will kill me and leave me lying here," the silver-haired shinigami concluded, "I will not live to see the outside of the prison. Before I release him, I want some assurance that will not happen."

 _That would be inadvisable_ , said the hougyoku, _for I will tell you this...we cannot enter the spirit dimension without this man. He is the 'key' we need to enter there._

"Gin is the key?" Aizen said, eyeing his former colleague and noting the surprise on the silver-haired shinigami's face, "And I see that he was not aware of this. I think that you had best tell us why Gin is needed? How is it that he can open the way to the royal realm? I think before we move from this cell, you need to inform us."

_I can say no more. As I said, all things will be revealed once we reach our benefactor. Until then, you must use your powers to protect Ichimaru Gin. If he dies, then you will eventually be killed by the soul king. This is a matter of fate, not design._

"And who exactly are you to speak to me of fate? I created you. How would you know of these things, yet I do not?"

_I think you have already begun to suspect that I am not wholly your own creation. But I will explain..."_

"When we reach the royal realm," Aizen sighed, looking into Gin's partially revealed eyes, "Well then, it seems I have no choice but to accept your terms for now. I will agree not to send that snake to the painful death he deserves until we have reached the one in the royal realm. Until that time, I will use what powers I have to protect him."

_His eyes met Gin's again, expectantly._

"Does that meet with your approval, my treacherous former lover?"

Gin's face paled, but he nodded briefly. He moved forward on unsteady legs and slowly unbound the brown-eyed man. Aizen's eyes watched him closely as he worked, sending small shivers of warning through Gin.

_It is so clear that he would just as soon kill me as look at me. I wonder if that warning the hougyoku gave him will be enough._

All too soon, Aizen was free. Gin started to step back, then sucked in a hard, frightened breath as a hand clenched the front of his clothes and yanked him into a long, brutal, open-mouthed kiss. Gin froze, unable to react as those hot, hungry lips enslaved his, feeling every bit as passionate as they ever had. But beneath that kiss was a burgeoning, deadly hatred. Gin tore himself away, gasping and shaking softly as Aizen gave him a dominating smile.

"What was that about?" he asked breathlessly, "I know that you hate me for betraying you."

Aizen stretched languidly, then stepped forward slowly, stopping in front of Gin and leaning close to whisper into his ear.

"I kissed you like that so that you could feel _how much I hate you for betraying me_!" he hissed softly, "Know this, snake. You are alive so that I can reach the royal realm, and that is the _only_ reason you are alive! As soon as you are of no more use to me, I will murder you in the most foul and horrid way I can think of to do so."

Gin swallowed hard and managed a smirk.

"You are just as I remember you," he commented, handing Aizen the green-hilted zanpakutou.

"As are you."

Aizen gazed at him quietly for a moment, then slid his weapon into the belt at his waist. Kyouka Suigetsu gave Gin a look of reassurance and slowly faded.

"Well then," said Aizen, finding Gin's eyes again in the darkness, "You may lead the way, Gin."

"I don't know if I dare turn my back on you," Gin said, regaining a bit of his composure, "I am not sure I won't be run through again."

"That is a good instinct," Aizen said, with somewhat more warmth, "But...I do not see Shinzou."

"My zanpakutou has not returned," Gin said softly, "I have my flash step and a bit of kido, but that is all."

"I see. Well, then you are fortunate that the hougyoku wants you alive. Enjoy that good luck while you have it."

Gin turned his back on Aizen, forcing down the cold chill that went through his insides as he did.

_I wonder what he would think if I told him about the child._

_I wonder why the hougyoku didn't mention it._

_Perhaps he shouldn't know just yet._

He led Aizen out of the cell and started back on his way outside, the man who most of all wanted to kill him, walking quietly at his side.

And even as he felt the coldness of the man's fury, the warmth of Aizen's kiss refused to leave his blushing lips.


	4. Yearning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gin and Aizen contemplate their past as they enter the dangerous world they must pass through to reach the royal realm.

"Are you feeling all right?" Aizen asked, startling Gin with the first words he had spoken since they had entered the precipice world, "You look rather paler than usual, my treacherous, former love."

"And you wouldn't want me to die too soon, denying you entry into the royal realm, ne?" Gin sighed, rubbing his hands over his too warm face and shivering inwardly, "But, don't worry, I'm fine. I could use some rest, but it can wait until we get out of here. I don't like this place."

"Too many frightening memories to haunt you?" Aizen asked, smirking, "like watching me destroy the cleaner and seeing just how horrible my powers had become?"

"It is cold," Gin said blithely, "Snakes prefer warm places."

"Of course. That is why so many prefer the fires of hell to the coolness of the heavenly region."

"Are you trying to frighten me?"

"Are you frightened?"

"No," Gin said, looking away, "I know you still need me, so I do not fear what you will do. You are too smart to kill me too soon."

"And you figure that between now and when you become useless to me again, you will find a way to convince me not to destroy you?"

"No. I don't care if you destroy me."

Aizen blinked slowly.

"Nothing you could do to me would rival what the soul king would do if he knew I was still alive. You see, Sousuke, he already knew I was a threat. That is why he set us up to kill each other."

"You tried to kill me because of what I did to Rangiku. It was personal, Gin. No one had a hand in what we did, but the two of us. I hurt her, you tried to kill me for it and I tried to kill you."

Gin looked him in the eyes, debating whether or not to tell the man more of what he knew.

"What is that look, Gin?" Aizen mused, "You look torn. But I can make it easy for you and torture you until you tell me what you are holding back."

"Go ahead and torture me," Gin said quietly, "I am not afraid of you."

He continued to stand quietly where he was as Aizen drew his weapon, gazed at it silently for a moment, then swung it at the silver-haired man. He stared in surprise as Kyouka Suigetsu manifested and crossed his sword with Aizen's, stopping him short of striking and killing his former lover. Gin gazed into his eyes solemnly.

"Sousuke, Kyouka Suigetsu and the hougyoku both know that my heart wasn't in killing you. I wanted back what you stole from Rangiku. That is all. When I struck at you, I was conflicted. You wouldn't have died, even if not for the hougyoku. The attack would have failed because I was..."

He paused, closing his eyes and swallowing hard.

"Because I was in love with you. I hated what you had done to her, and I wondered, why her? I struck at your heart, Sousuke, because you struck at mine. But before I could take aim, I fell in love with you. That last night, all I wanted was to ask you for what you had taken from her. I would have forgiven you and remained true to you if you had just offered me that much. And if you knew I wanted to kill you, you had to know why. It would have been simple for you. But you wanted me to hate you. You wanted me to turn on you. It was a part of your own plan for me to betray you!"

"You say I wanted you to betray me?" Aizen repeated quietly, sheathing his weapon and beginning to walk again, "Why would you think that?"

"It's clear enough. You took me to your side. You kept me close by, and unlike others, you protected me to make sure that I did not die before the trip to make the key."

"Yes. But...I only took that route because I knew what a snake you were. You murdered that third seat."

"He was weak and he stood between us. To get close to you, I had to prove myself. I will not apologize for getting my hands dirty to gain your trust."

"And you walked at my side, knowing all along that you would try to kill me. What amuses me is that if you had tried, there were several times when you might have been able to overcome me. Yet you waited until that day, and thus, lost your opportunities without realizing."

"You are right about that," Gin confessed, "I did underestimate you. I did not think that you would be so reckless as to fuse with the hougyoku and I was not aware that doing so would make you immortal."

"Yes," Aizen said, smirking, "I was careful not to let on about anything I thought you might be able to use against me. You thought that the only important secret you needed to know was how to counter the effects of my Kyouka Suigetsu. But you found out just how simplistic that expectation was."

"Yes," Gin agreed, going quiet as they reached the designated exit.

"What is it, Gin?" Aizen asked, studying him curiously, "You look rather spooked. Odd...you seemed so fearless before."

"Because you have no reason to kill me right now, and every reason to keep me alive," Gin answered, opening the doorway into one of the pocket dimensions, "This dimension is full of things that only mean to kill. And while you enjoy immortality, I do not. Yes, this, I do fear."

"Well, don't worry, little snake," Aizen said, curling an arm around him, "I will make sure you stay alive until we reach our destination. Just stay close to me and you will live...at least until I kill you."

Gin sighed softly in resignation, taking up a position alongside his former lover as they passed into the pocket dimension.

"We must walk north for several days, allowing the hougyoku to sense the path for us. As I am nearly powerless, you and Kyouka Suigetsu must use your powers to protect us. When we sleep, we will need to use a reiatsu cage. When we reach the crossover point, the key..."

"That is to say, you," Aizen added.

"Yes. I will resonate with the entrance and we will be able to pass through into the royal realm. But be aware, there are powerful creatures that inhabit this place, acting as guardians of that doorway. They will go to any lengths to stop us, and many of them have very odd and dangerous abilities."

Aizen nodded briefly, flash stepping through the doorway and landing lightly on the path. He looked around for a moment, studying the light fog that hung in the chill air around them. The hougyoku pulsed softly inside his chest, indicating the path ahead of them. Gin joined him on the path, walking silently at his right side, through the cloying mist.

As they walked, their footsteps made soft sounds on the trail, The trickle of running water reached their ears and the thickening mist seemed to emit a soft hiss. Gin's blue eyes opened wider to study their surroundings, and he sucked in a surprised breath as an odd vision appeared in the foggy air in front of him.

_"Gin! Gin, where are you? Gin?_

"R-rangiku?" he whispered, certain the vision couldn't be real.

But, the next moment, she appeared in front of him, the short-haired waif he had found collapsed and in need of food.

_"Where have you been? The festival is about to start. Come Gin, there is free food, drink and dancing! Come on!"_

_"This...this isn't real," he mused._

_But he breathed in deeper and tried to clear his eyes and only found that he was back in the Rukongai. Rangiku's hand took hold of his, tugging and leading him on, away from where he had been watching Aizen and his followers collect pieces of people's souls._

_"This...this can't be right," he mused softly, as the festival came into view, "What happened to me? I was on the trail with Sousuke. I know I was."_

_He reeled inside as Rangiku dragged him to a table laden with food and they ate to their heart's content, then she took his hands and led him to the area roped off for dancing. Ragiku's laugh tinkled in his ears and he felt her arms wrap around him as the spun and turned together. He could almost forget, then, that he wasn't where he had thought he was. So entranced by the memory, he sank deeper into it, fixing his eyes on Rangiku's smiling face and remembering._

But suddenly, the vision that had been so strong all around him flickered strangely and Gin thought he could hear another voice, a much darker and more dangerous voice calling to him.

"S-sousuke?" he whispered, feeling a chill run down his spine as he saw that he wasn't even standing, but was lying down, and his body had nearly been engulfed by the thick, white fog.

"Gin!" Aizen voice called again, and the illusion around him broke apart completely.

Gin felt as though a thousand knives had cut into his body from every conceivable direction and loosed a scream of terror from deep in his chest. Instantly, strong arms wrapped around him, holding him still while something was brought to his lips and Sousuke's deep voice sounded in his ear, telling him to swallow. He choked and coughed as something bitter and thick ran down his throat, then dizziness roared through him again, leaving him senseless and completely vulnerable in the arms of the man who would have liked nothing more than to kill him.

Gin couldn't move, not even to acknowledge the other man's presence. He was stricken with how warm Aizen's hands and arms felt where they touched him, and how deathly cold he felt all of the way through. Shivering, he found strength enough to burrow closer to Aizen, forgetting for a moment that the man wanted him dead and just feeling that their bodies were close together.

_We spent so many nights in each others' arms while waiting for things to play out. I loved the way his arms felt...loving, but deadly. Yes, I actually enjoyed that feeling of being on the precipice with him. And here we are again._

_I wonder what happened to me._

"Sousuke?" he mumbled thickly.

He felt the body he was curled up against move and then warm breath touched his cheek.

"He feels warmer now," Aizen's voice said quietly, "I think the worst is over."

"Very well, then," said Kyouka Suigetsu's calm voice, "I will leave you now."

"What happened?" Gin whispered, breathing in Aizen's warm, familiar scent, "The last thing I remember is starting down the trail."

He opened his eye wider and noted that they now laid in a cluster of rocks above the heavily misted forest.

"The fog is a hallucinogen," Aizen explained, "It overcame you and you began to lose yourself in visions. There were malevolent spirits waiting in the trees, watching to see when you collapsed. They would have eaten you, I suppose."

"But you...?"

Aizen smiled wickedly.

"I would have been happy to watch you succumb and be devoured before my eyes, but Kyouka Suigetsu reminded me that we need you."

"Ah..."

_But that wasn't what was in the hands that touched me, or the voice I heard._

_Do you still feel something besides killing rage for me, Sousuke? Could it be that there is still a shred of hope for us?_

He felt a gentle throbbing in his belly and sensed the continued presence of the soul he carried.

_You may still hate me, but right now you are holding everything you once told me you wanted. Even still aimed at kingly greatness, you still want something so very simple that is right here with you. I won't hope that you will choose this. I won't fall for the dream of us living happily ever after. To do that would only end in my death, I know. But for now, while we are like this, I will dream, Sousuke._

_If I ever had a family, I would have wanted it to be with you._

"What are you thinking?" Aizen said, touching his face lightly and making their eyes meet in the early morning darkness, "That was such a soulful look you wore just now. Were you thinking of something sad?"

"It was nothing," Gin sighed, closing his eyes and nuzzling closer to Aizen's warm body.

"Hmmm."

Aizen went quiet again, watching as Gin drifted off to sleep. And despite the flickers of anger that still registered when he thought of the silver-haired man's betrayal, he had to admit, in the privacy of his own mind, that he hadn't enjoyed seeing Gin hurt and nearly dying. Where he would have thought that such a sight would be pleasing, it had been like he felt the evil fog ravaging his own body.

_I have never seen terror in Gin's eyes before, not even when I struck the blow that should have killed him. Always cool and methodical, whether playing out one of his schemes or taking the blow that would end his life, he did everything quietly and with surprising calm._

_I never heard him scream like that before, not even when he was at my feet and dying. And when he made that sound, it was like it had come from my own lungs. And even if Kyouka Suigetsu hadn't manifested and pleaded with me to save him, I..._

He looked solemnly at Gin's handsome, sleeping face, wondering if he could make himself kill the silver-haired man.

_Of course I could. Maybe that fog had some effect on me as well. This whole place is rife with wicked and deadly things. You see now, Gin, don't you? You were never a big enough snake to brave a place like this. But still, you do so resolutely. Why is that? You escaped death. You were in the Rukongai and I was locked away. Even if Kyouka Suigetsu did reach you and you healed him, still, you did not have to come to me. What made you do that, Gin?_

_What made you take the dreaded steps that would only lead to your death?_

Gin stirred in his arms, his eyes opening and meeting Aizen's quietly. For a moment, the two only looked into each others' eyes and felt the warmth and closeness of their bodies. Aizen's fingertips traced a line down the side of Gin's face and he sighed.

"If you feel like you can walk, we should go," he said softly, "It isn't safe to remain in one place for very long around here."

Gin nodded wordlessly and sat up, only to be stricken with intense dizziness and fall back again. Aizen's arms wrapped around him, then Gin felt a cool cloth wash the dried sweat from his face.

"Rest a bit longer."

"But..."

"If need be, I can carry you," Aizen said, studying the area around them, "This was only the beginning. This place will only become more and more dangerous."

"Are you trying to frighten me again?" Gin asked, smirking.

"Are you frightened?" Aizen asked, smiling back at him.

"Not yet," Gin breathed, longing more than anything to kiss Aizen's solemn lips again, "You are still more dangerous than anything in this dimension...and I am still useful to you."

Gin started to close his eyes again, but sucked in a surprised breath as Aizen's lips captured his. He looked back at the man in surprise, his mind whirling as he tried to make sense of the gesture.

"I am glad that you didn't die," Aizen said quietly.

For a breath of time, it almost seemed real...

"After all, if you did die, I would never reach the royal realm and find out what you were so willing to die for."


	5. Reflexes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen explores his mixed feelings for Gin, causing them both pain as they confront the past.

_Gin opened his eyes and made a soft sound of surprise at finding himself back in Las Noches, tucked warmly into the bed he had shared with Aizen Sousuke and surrounded by the scents of their recent lovemaking. He rested there, knowing full well that it wasn't real, but grasping at the pleasantness of the memory. He didn't dream that things woul be that comfortable again. Even if he somehow survived long enough to reach the royal realm, and to give birth to their child, Aizen wasn't the kind of man who would ever forgive him. No, he would certainly pay with his life, at some point, and that one who had intervened and set him on his current path likely knew that._

_Gin pushed away the dark thoughts and focused instead on enjoying the moment. And the moment he had fallen into was the one he returned to most frequently. He rose from the bed and moved out onto the balcony._

_As before, he found Aizen, dressed in that same lovely, flowing yukata and drinking red wine. He breathed in slowly, his heart pounding hard._

_"Sousuke?"_

_"Gin," the other man greeted him, sipping at his wine and looking up into the black, starlit sky._

_Gin moved forward, a catch in his chest as Aizen shifted, welcoming him, once again, into the space between the railing and himself. The silver-haired man closed his burning eyes as Aizen's arms wrapped around him from behind and he teased Gin's throat with unusually tender kisses._

_"Gin?" Aizen queried, "Do you know how often I return to this place?"_

_Gin froze, realizing that he wasn't in a dream, but a carefully crafted illusion._

_"I come here every night," the elder man confessed, "But...don't think for a moment that I do this because of some remaining emotional attachment to you. This...is why I come here."_

_Gin made a sound of shock and pain as a sword was thrust through his heart from behind, making a spray of blood explode out of his chest as his body went limp and his legs gave way. Aizen lowered him to the ground and leaned over him, gazing down at him dispassionately as he began to die._

_"You see, Gin?"_

_"Y-you are wrong!"_

_"What? Can you still speak? I should have cut your throat," Aizen said coldly, "But I was correct in thinking this would be more enjoyable if you were with me while I did this. Still, you seem to have something important to say. Go ahead."_

_"Hatred is an emotional attachment," Gin whispered, reeling as blood loss began to make his eyes go dim._

"Shatter."

Gin swallowed hard as the illusion around him broke apart, leaving him panting harshly and shaking like a leaf in Aizen's tight embrace.

"Oh, did you have a bad dream?" Aizen asked sedately, releasing him and watching as he rose and flash stepped away into the nearby brush.

A moment later, the garbled sounds of sickness reached Aizen and he sighed and shook his head.

"Now you know how your betrayal made me feel inside," he said softly, "Still, that is an oddly strong reaction for you. Something is different about you...softer...dare I say, almost vulnerable."

He looked questionably in the direction Gin had gone, frowning as a soft rustle and the sound of fleeing feet reached him.

"Gin, what are you...?"

A flicker of concern flashed on Aizen's face as he flash stepped after the other man, calling his name.

_Why would he do something so reckless? He knows how dangerous a place this is. Did that illusion completely unhinge him?_

"Gin!"

Gin only flash stepped faster, staggering as he ran, with a hand pressed to his aching midsection.

"Gin, stop before you really do get yourself killed! Gin!"

His breath left him in a hard gasp as Gin stumbled near the edge of a drop off and his body turned reflexively. Unable to regain his balance, he loosed a sound of distress as he tumbled over the edge and started to fall. In a blazing flash step, Aizen reached the edge of the drop off and launched himself after the other man. He caught Gin's flailing form, mid-fall and dropped down carefully, landing at the bottom of the cliff and pausing to catch his breath.

He almost lost it again as a hard sob sounded and Gin shuddered against his chest, where he clung tightly to Aizen.

_What is going on?_

_In all of the time I have known this man, he has never shed a single tear. What is wrong with him?_

"Gin?" he said again, looking down and catching a glimpse of the silver-haired man's tormented face, just before it tucked tightly into his shoulder again.

He let off trying to talk to his former love and just held him quietly, letting his fingers play in the short strands of his hair and nuzzling his cheek. Gradually, the hard, fast pounding of Gin's heart slowed, and he loosed a shivering sigh and loosened his grip. He pulled free of Aizen and turned away, but not before the elder man spotted the stain of tears on his face.

"You are surprisingly reactive," Aizen noted aloud, "You could have gotten yourself killed."

"Isn't that what you want?" Gin asked tonelessly, still facing away from him, "Maybe I just wanted it to be over with."

"You, becoming despondent? That is very strange. Are you sure that there isn't something that you want to tell me?"

"What do you mean?" Gin asked, his heart leaping into his throat and one hand straying protectively to his abdomen.

"You are obviously concealing something that is causing you an unnatural amount of distress. I don't imagine that this worry concerns me. You were quick enough to try to end my life, yourself."

"That was before," Gin answered, freezing as he realized what he had begun to reveal.

Aizen turned him slowly around and slid a hand under his chin, making their eyes meet. And to his surprise, Gin's eyes did not stay slitted, but opened to reveal two ice-blue orbs.

"That was before?" Aizen repeated, catching the hint of truth in the words, "Before what, Gin? Before you realized that I couldn't die? Before I cut you down and almost killed you? That must have made you hate me even more. So, tell me, what is it that made you change your mind? What made you come to me? And why are you tormented when I only express the hatred for you that I have all along? I haven't changed at all, but you have. You seem to constantly be struggling. Why? I told you I won't hurt you now. I will make sure you stay alive until we reach the royal realm. Do you doubt that?"

"No," Gin answered, looking away, "I just don't care."

"Oh, I don't believe that for a moment," Aizen said, glaring down at him, "I think that the problem is...you do care...about something. And that something torments you. But that torment threatens our mission. If you become reckless and die too soon, then the mission will fail."

"I don't care anymore if it fails," Gin sighed wearily, "What does it matter if the end is the same for us?"

"What indeed?" Aizen agreed, "Gin, I have been wondering all along about this. If you don't care about me, and you don't care about your fate, then who are you protecting? Not Rangiku?"

"No, she has back what you took from her."

"I know. So, who then?"

"It doesn't matter," Gin whispered brokenly, pulling his hand away from his abdomen.

"But it does," Aizen breathed, capturing his hand and looking down at the area it had been covering.

He looked back into Gin's widened eyes, the truth striking home forcefully and leaving him momentarily stunned.

"You...you are...?"

"This," Gin answered in a shaky voice, "is the only thing left that matters...this, that we made that night you keep reminding yourself about and going back to for your fantasies about killing me!"

Aizen continued to stare at him wordlessly, the pieces of the puzzle of Gin's strange behavior falling into place and making much more coherent sense.

"Don't you know? Or have you forgotten? The hougyoku was with you then. It felt our desires and it answered them. We became soul bonded that night. I was filled with your seed and reiatsu, and this is the result of that."

"You are having our child?" Aizen mused, his dark eyes registering a flurry of emotions, "Truly, it must be a torment, having a child you love that is part of the man you loved, and who now despises you."

"Well, it won't be a torment for long," Gin sighed, turning away and starting back in the direction of their camp.

Aizen took in a breath the radiated with Gin's attractive scent and felt a flash of intense heat in his loins.

_It is strange how difficult it is to hate you. It is so tempting to love you when you roll over and expose your vulnerable belly, but that can be a dangerous lure, can't it, Gin?_

He followed the other man at a short distance, watching his back as he reached the camp and started towards the protective barrier. He only had a moment to react when a huge, hairy monstrosity burst out of the trees and its arms stretched out reaching for Gin as the silver-haired man turned and his eyes opened wide in terror.

Aizen's flash step sounded, and a kido blast threw the creature back into the trees, where it was met with a flurry of snarls and feral screeches. Gin registered having been pulled out of harm's way, and that Aizen's arms were still warmly locked around him. His haunted eyes looked up into Aizen's, reading the heated, warning glare in them as he watched in the direction the attacking beast's body had been thrown.

"Thank you, Sousuke," he said quietly, extracting himself from the elder man's arms and turning away.

He entered the barrier and laid down on the makeshift bed, turning away and curling his body as he closed his eyes and tried to drift off again. For a time, he laid alone there, tossing and turning uncomfortably, vacillating between numbness and an aching sadness. His belly ached fiercely, rumbling in protest and he felt almost unbearably weak and dizzy.

_It must be because I let myself get so riled, he chided himself, finally sitting up and brushing the hair out of his eyes._

He caught his breath in surprise at finding Aizen sitting silently beside the bed, watching him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"I just can't get comfortable," Gin confessed.

"Lie back down," Aizen said, moving forward to join him.

Gin flinched as Aizen's arm wrapped around his waist, and the man's warm body settled against his back.

"Your reiatsu is out of balance," Aizen commented, directing a soothing stream of his own into Gin's curled form, "The hougyoku suggested that I should give you periodic infusions to stabilize you."

"Hmmm," Gin sighed with a non-committal inflection.

But he couldn't fool himself as the warm flow of Aizen's reiatsu and the man's warm, caressing hands squeezed a soft sigh of relief from deep in his chest. The connection between them seemed to be affecting Aizen as well, bringing a more heated look into his eyes and causing his caresses to deepen provocatively. He dragged the silver-haired man onto his knees and plunged into his mouth, stroking Gin's tongue with his and sucking indulgently before pausing to allow them to catch their breath.

"Don't worry," Gin said in a low voice, "I know it doesn't change anything between us."

"No," Aizen agreed in a softer tone, his dark eyes unreadable as he tore open Gin's yukata and laid his boy against the slighter man's, "And neither does this."

Gin moaned and thrashed as his body was hastily prepared, then suddenly and painfully possessed by the other man. He ignored the pain and wrapped his thin legs tightly around Aizen's muscular body, writhing madly against him as Aizen's hips moved forcefully and his mouth plundered Gin's relentlessly.

_For how long have I wanted to feel this? Gin wondered dazedly, continuing to move heatedly with the other man, It seems like forever since he touched me this way. That night was the last time...but he curses that night. How can he do this? Doesn't he despise me? But the hands on me don't feel hateful anymore. And his mouth feels passionate, not spiteful at all. It might be an effect of the stabilizing he did, but for just a moment to have him do this to me!_

_Kami, I am still in love with him!_

_But he will never forgive me. He will always look at me with suspicion and mistrust in his eyes...but...why are his eyes so different now? They're like they were that night...that night when we made that miracle inside me._

Gin's thoughts dispersed into a puff of steamy breath as Aizen's hand strayed into his nether region, pleasuring him as their thrusts quickened and became rougher and more needy. Gin didn't feel any distance left between them as their joined bodies slowed in their motions, pausing atop a tall pinnacle of overwhelming bliss before tumbling headlong over and into climax. Aizen gave a hard, feral snarl of completion, thrusting in deeply as he released, then plundering Gin's willing mouth as the heavy pulses of orgasm shook the two.

Gin disappeared into the dark swirls of pleasure, no longer tormented by past or future, simply caught up in the moment, sharing wickedly beautiful pleasures with the man he loved. Even knowing it could end in a moment with one of Aizen's cruel issuances, he embraced it wholeheartedly, only wishing he could somehow stop time and continue that perfect moment forever.

"I love you."

Gin froze, unable to fathom how the words had escaped him. He didn't dare look into what he was sure was a deadly expression, but ducked into the other man's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"That is very unwise," Aizen said solemnly.

"All of this is unwise," Gin reasoned, still without meeting the other man's eyes, "I suppose it encourages me to be reckless."

"I have never known you to be a reckless man," Aizen mused, licking a flushed earlobe, "You are usually calculating...methodically planning. It was hard to stay ahead of you sometimes. But that made you all the more enchanting, I suppose."

"And this...makes me boring?" Gin asked softly.

"This makes you unreadable."

"You told me once that an unreadable man was the only kind that could kill you."

"That was before I became immortal," Aizen replied, sounding amused, "Now, even an unreadable man cannot hurt me."

"What about another god, Sousuke?" Gin asked suddenly, "Perhaps the hougyoku makes you immortal here, but what happens when we reach the soul king? Could he kill you?"

"Are you worried? I'm touched..."

"You don't sound scared of him at all," Gin replied, "But, doesn't the very fact that your benefactor sent us this way and sought to have us avoid the king suggest something different?"

"You needn't concern yourself with that," Aizen said enigmatically, "I will be strong enough to overcome the king. You should focus on the one task that is yours."

"And what is that?"

"Stay alive. Stay alive and keep our child alive. That's all I ask. Whatever else you want to do is up to you."

_What if what I want...is to have you look at me with those eyes all of the time?_

_What if I want you to hold me tightly like you are right now...to kiss me like you love me too?_

_Will you ever do those things again?_

_Will you, Sousuke?_

_Can you?_

He fell asleep with those questions still tormenting him, and was soothed only when he felt Aizen's lips touch his throat and the man's voice in his ear.

"You truly are a magnificent being, Gin. Despite everything, I find myself wanting to forgive you. Not that I will, you understand. But you make me want to...Gin."


	6. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voices in the forest lead Aizen astray. What will Gin do?

"You look tired," Aizen observed as he watched Gin run the back of one hand over his sweating forehead, then take a sip of water from the pouch he carried, "This looks like a good place to stop for a rest. Sit down."

Gin shook his head anxiously.

"Don't you feel it?" he panted softly, "Something is watching us...besides the usual feeling of being watched we've had all along. This is something else. We should get out of here before dark."

"Very well, but you should at least let me infuse you with a bit of balancing reiatsu. You look like you are about to fall down," Aizen insisted, taking his arm.

Gin flinched and pulled away, making the other man gaze at him questioningly.

"Gin, are you all right?"

"I am fine!" the silver-haired man insisted, looking around them as they spoke, "I just don't like it here!"

"You seem very unnerved," Aizen noted, "That is quite unlike you, Gin. But come. If you want to be on our way, then we shall go. Just, don't push yourself too hard. You don't want to..."

"I know how to take care of myself," Gin said shortly, "I've had to do that for a long time, so you don't need to..."

"To what?" Aizen asked, walking alongside him as they started down the trail again, "To be concerned about you?"

"We both know exactly how 'concerned' you are about me," Gin sighed, wincing as his stomach twinged painfully, "I won't let anything happen to your precious baby."

"Good," Aizen said, a little too pleasantly, "I am glad to hear that."

He continued to walk as Gin paused for a moment, watching and shaking his head in annoyance. The silver-haired shinigami moved forward to follow, then paused as a soft, unfamiliar voice whispered in his mind.

_He is going to kill you._

Gin looked around, frowning, then started to walk again.

_You should never have come with him._

Gin sucked in an anxious breath and quickened his step, hastening to catch up to the other man, wondering briefly if Aizen was hearing the voice as well.

But Aizen Sousuke was hearing a completely different voice in his mind.

_You should kill him now._

He brushed off the stray thought and moved forward steadily.

_You are a cyncical man, who knows that attaching oneself to another who is weaker is a bad idea. He will be used against you. He will be used to make you weak._

Aizen paused and studied the forest, then looked back at Gin and read the silver-haired man's anxious expression.

"Did you hear something, Gin?" Aizen asked.

"A strange voice in my head, warning me that you were going to kill me," Gin answered, moving closer as Aizen drew his blade.

He cast his eyes and searching reiatsu around the area and shook his head.

"Whatever is doing this is not something we can sense easily," he said in a low voice, "We should go back and try to find a way around this area."

The two turned together and found themselves simultaneously stricken with thick cacophony of voices, assaulting them from every direction.

_Where are you going?_

_Stop!_

_It is not that way!_

_Are we lost? Oh, kami, we are lost! What to do!_

_Stay here. Yes, staying in one place is safer. Let's stay here._

"Sousuke!" Gin gasped, reeling as the voices became so thick that it seemed to draw the oxygen out of the air around him.

He staggered unsteadily, slowly rendered unable to see and reaching out in the direction he had last seen Aizen.

"Sousuke!"

His fingertips captured a bit of cloth and he clung to it, even as the one wearing it was taken slowly to his knees. Clenching the material with one hand, his other searching hand found Aizen's face and he pressed up against the other man's body, speaking into his ear as the voices around them rose into a maddening roar that buffeted their hair, made their clothes whip about and stung their skin. But his voice couldn't seem to break through the din and gradually, the two were torn away from each other.

"SOUSUKE!" Gin screamed, closing his eyes tightly and covering his ears.

Suddenly, everything around him went perfectly silent.

He listened to his own panting breaths for a moment, then tried opening his eyes again. He made a sound of distress at finding himself alone on the trail, with no sign of Aizen or where he might have gone. Gin swallowed hard, looking carefully around the area until he found a place where a shoe had scraped. He moved off the trail, leaving kido markings as he went and searching for any sign that someone had passed that way. He reached out with his senses, his stomach twisting in knots as he realized how vulnerable he was, wandering in the area alone and without use of his zanpakutou.

_All I have is a little bit of kido and my flash step, he mused, But, I just need to find him and free him, then we can follow this trail back to..._

His thoughts trailed off as an odd thought struck him. He looked back along the way he had come and a startled gasp escaped him.

_The kido markings are gone!_

_But then, that is hardly a surprise. Even though the voices seemed to stop, the ones they belong to could be concealed around here and watching me. They took Sousuke, probably to feed on him. It makes the most sense because, being immortal, they can feast on him and he will only regenerate._

_That would be horrid..._

_I remember, though, a time when I would have wished a fate something like that for him in a second._

_Ironic, ne?_

He let his thoughts go silent and searched the area for any signs of passage. Finding a few recently crushed places in the grass, he moved deeper into the trees, turning this way or that as the signs suggested, listening deeply in the strange silence, then calling out Aizen's name and straining his ears for any kind of reply.

Over the next several hours, his concerns grew until his belly ached with worry and his panicked heart flickered wildly.

"Sousuke, where are you?" he panted, wiping the sweat away from his face and noting that it was nearly sunset.

_It's nearly dark. And I don't know what other dangers are in this area, how far we have strayed from our path or..._

As he passed through an already darkened area of the trees, he caught sight of a fleeting shape and heard a softer whisper in his mind.

_Hungry. I am hungry. Come, darknesssss, so we can feed!_

Gin's heart darkened as understanding came over him.

"So, it seems their voices have power in the daylight, but at night, their voices lose that power and they become physical creatures."

 _So, we can lure you in the daylight and eat you at night!_ exclaimed one of the disembodied voices, striking him with a blast of wind that wasn't terribly threatening, but given the message, left him extremely unnerved.

"Where have you taken him?" Gin asked desperately, "I...I have no powers to fight you. I know what you plan to do. I just...need to find him."

His heart pounded as the voice sounded, even more softly and the vague outline of a male body appeared in front of him.

_Who is this man that he is so important to you? You know he wants to kill you?_

"I know that. I don't care. I..."

Gin swallowed hard, forcing his breathing to slow.

"I just want to be with him when..."

He left off meaningfully, watching the wispy form in front of him thickened. The being glared at him thoughtfully for several long moments, thinking.

 _Very well_ , it answered, it's voice yet softer, _but know this. He is restrained and you cannot hope to free him in the state you are in. You will both be devoured. You will die, but we have sensed he will not._

"So, you plan to keep him here and devour him endlessly?" Gin asked, carefully keeping the fear and disgust out of his voice, "I suppose I understand you wanting to do that. And I am trapped in here with no way out. I have no hope of escaping you. I only want to be with the father of my child when I die."

 _That is understandable_ , the creature replied, indicating the direction.

Gin walked alongside the slowly materializing beast, his eyes on the forest ahead of them and his mind working quickly.

 _Kyouka Suigetsu_? he called out in his mind.

He waited silently, but received no answer. His heart sinking, he tried several times more before accepting his inability to call on Aizen's zanpakutou spirit.

_He spoke to me before. I wonder why I can't hear him now._

He paused again, reaching down deep inside himself.

_Shinzou?_

For several long moments, he felt nothing. Then, he felt the flicker of another mind brushing against his.

_M-master?_

A secret smile touched Gin's lips as he continued walking at the beast's side.

_Can you help me?_

Gin felt a warm flutter in his belly, then a feeling like small flares lighting up inside him.

_What do you want me to do?_

Gin thought carefully.

_These things seem to lose their voices and special abilities when it is dark, so that they can feed like the monsters they are. We should be able to target and kill them when they begin to feed on us. Shinzou, you will need to bend around them. Put a small bit of dust in each and take them all out at once._

_We will be likely to attract more._

Yes, Gin answered, but when we take out the ones who restrained him, their power over him will fade and he will be able to fight.

_You are sure?_

_Well_ , Gin mused, _I suppose I could be wrong, but it is the only way I can think of to get us out of here alive._

_Then, that is what we will do._

Gin turned his focus to the trees ahead of them, where he spotted a large clearing and a place where a person laid, surrounded by darkening creatures that whispered into his mind as they held him down. Gin blanched at the number, wondering silently if Shinzou could indeed cut them all, but with no other options, he had no choice but to proceed. He moved in close to Aizen, watching dazedly as the creatures parted and allowed him to approach their other prisoner. He kneeled next to Aizen, studying the vague expression on the man's face, then looked up at the beast that had guided him there.

"What's wrong with him? What did you do to him?"

_We used your voice to lure him into the trees. He thought he was rescuing you, but he was led deep into the woods and inundated with our voices until he was left stunned. He will be dangerous when darkness comes, but as you see, we have bound him securely in bonds that seal away his reiatsu, and there are too many of us for him to overcome, even if he does break free._

"Ah, I see."

 _It comes_ , the beast whispered, _it's voice becoming smaller and beginning to fade, The time comes._

 _Shinzou_? Gin breathed inwardly.

_I am ready._

There was a long moment as the sun dropped beneath the horizon and darkness crept in around them. as the voices of their captors faded and the beasts' bodies solidified, Gin gazed down at Aizen's glazed eyes.

"Sousuke?"

The dark brown eyes blinked and moved in his direction, widening with recognition.

"Gin?"

The last of their enemies' voices disappeared and the group began to fall on the two to feed. Trapped in his bonds, Aizen's eyes remained locked on Gin's and his lips imparted a few last words.

"I am sorry."

Aizen watched as Gin's slitted eyes opened wide and reiatsu blossomed around him. A bright, silvery sword exploded from beneath his clothing, bending strangely and, with blazing swiftness, impaled one beast after another, making blood explode and rain down all around the trapped shinigamis. And even as Shinzou reached the end of his extension and, just as swiftly returned, Gin whispered the final, deadly command. The beasts' mouths opened and under the force of the light brought on by Shinzou's release, their chilling screams filled the copse where they had taken the two men to be eaten. Aizen and Gin watched silently as the monsters were burned away by Shinzou's poison, then were left staring wordlessly at each other in the returning darkness.

The moon caught Aizen's eyes, making them glitter brightly as they found Gin's again. A smile rose on his lips as Gin used Shinzou to free him from the bindings their captors had set.

"We should get out of the area quickly," Gin said, looking around, "The sudden brightness and noise scared the rest away, but they will not be scared for long."

He reached down to help Aizen to his feet, but was instead pulled into a hard, voracious kiss. He almost forgot where they were as Aizen's blazing eyes burned down into his and that devouring mouth drove him quickly to complete distraction.

"What was that all about?" he asked, brushing the dirt and leaves away from his face and leaving streaks of the slain monsters' blood behind, "It wasn't as though you would die, you know."

"That is true," Aizen said, smirking, "But you certainly could have watched from a distance while they devoured me and I regenerated a few times, could you not? They lured me away and left you behind, ne?"

"Yes."

"Then, why did you risk our child and come after me so impulsively? You could have been killed, Gin."

"That is true," Gin agreed, taking up a position at Aizen's side as Aizen summoned his blade and swiftly used his powers to conceal them, "But the truth is, if you were taken and I was alone, the mission could not go forward and, sooner or later, something would have killed us anyway. It was strategically best to come for you immediately. I wasn't being emotional or impulsive."

"No, not you," Aizen said, still smirking, "Come, Gin, we still have a long way to go."

They made their way out of the woods and slowly found their way back onto their original trail, walking until late into the night to put the forest behind them. They emerged into a field of long grass, dotted with fewer trees and scattered hills.

As they made their way into the grasses, Gin felt his body tremble and his legs wobbled beneath him. He made a sound of dismay as he started to collapse, but found himself swept off his feet and suddenly pressed against Aizen's warm shoulder. He started to object, then thought the better of it, dropping his head onto the other man's shoulder and closing his eyes.

"Will you tell me something?" he asked quietly, breathing in the sweeter, grass-scented air, "Why did you apologize to me?"

Aizen paused at the edge of a small brook that ran out of the trees and meandered through the hills ahead of them. The two began to wash away the blood on their skin and clothes, and Aizen quietly considered the other man's question.

"You shouldn't have had to involve yourself," he said finally, "They left you behind and you would have escaped, if not for concerning yourself with me. You know that I..."

"You would have escaped eventually?" Gin queried, "Yeah, I know."

"And you followed me in there anyway."

"I explained that."

"Yes, you did," Aizen agreed, studying him closely, "Well, even though it wasn't necessary for you to risk yourself rescuing me...thank you, Gin. You saved me a great deal of...discomfort."

 _You know_ , intoned Shinzou, _he probably would have escaped on his own._

 _Shut up_ , Gin scolded the spirit.

_You reacted impulsively. You are in love with him. And now he knows beyond a doubt, doesn't he?_

_Go to sleep, will you? I think I liked it better when you couldn't speak to me._

"Come Gin," Aizen said, startling him out of his thoughts, "It is time for another infusion."

Gin settled into Aizen's arms, resting the back of his head on the other man's shoulder and looking up into the night sky as Aizen's hands and reiatsu warmed his swelling belly and stars blazed and shot across the darkness above them.

_Yeah, I love him._

_Damn, that's really stupid._


	7. Entwined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke and Gin finally reach the royal realm and are greeted by someone unexpected!

_It's dark._

_But even though it's dark, I don't feel cold. If it was there, it would freeze the blood in my veins. I take in what is around me. I have always done so. Where I grew up, it was cold a lot and there wasn't much to eat. But, being like a snake, I just moved slowly and learned to survive on less._

_But I was always hungry._

_I was always lonely._

_I was always cold._

_Until I no longer expected food, water, company or a warm place to sleep. The single comfort I had was Rangiku. And when Sousuke stepped on her, I did what any snake would do, I coiled and prepared to strike. But no snake ever spent longer, biding its time, observing its foe, planning his betrayal as I did. A snake strikes because doing so is instinctive, because it will do whatever it needs to do to survive._

_The strange thing is...I don't feel that instinct anymore._

_Being near Sousuke and feeling his hatred made me numb and empty inside. But I could live with that because one thing inside me told me that his hatred was a lie. There was something in me that whispered that some part of him still loved me._

_Yeah. The baby only happened because we both wanted something very simple, but it was something we were afraid we would never have. The hougyoku felt that desire and made this happen. At first, I was scared. I was sure that Sousuke would just try again to destroy what we both wanted, because of what we did to each other. I was even more scared when we came into this pocket dimension. I was sure he'd let me be killed in some horrid way and he was happy to indulge me in growing that fear. But there comes a point when a guy knows he has no way to defend himself against something bigger. He knows he's going to die in some awful way and that fear is so big, he just goes numb inside from it. He loses the ability to move and just stands still and can't fight anymore._

_I was like that for a moment...frozen, empty and sure it was over for me._

_Why don't I feel that way now?_

_Is it because of what he said when he thought I was really gonna die? He said he was sorry. Sousuke apologized to me for not being able to protect me. When he did that, I suddenly felt like a snake again and I felt strength pour into me again. I wasn't scared or frozen or empty anymore. And I wanted more than anything to live._

_And now, I'm lying in his arms. His hands are possessive again where they hold me. I can feel his heartbeats and his warm breath tickles my skin. Those are real simple things, but those are the kinds of things that make me feel alive and warm. Maybe he still hates me a little, but he doesn't want me or this kid to die._

_I like that feeling._

_I won't let myself trust it to much. It could change and he could go back to hating me. He might still kill me when we get to the royal realm._

_Especially when he meets that guy who helped us. I wonder if Sousuke will wait to hear an explanation, or if he will think I betrayed him again. And I wonder if this guy is who he says he is. I only have the hougyoku's word on that, and that guy is the one who really created the hougyoku. He needed Sousuke to make it and bring it to him, and the hougyoku said that it would be able to help Sousuke defeat the king if he..._

"What is that dark, worried expression?" Aizen's voice breathed in Gin's ear, jolting him out of his thoughts, "Are you still thinking about what happened before?"

"No. I am fine," Gin said, starting to sit up.

He was pulled back down immediately and his mouth roughly possessed. He knew better than to bother arguing, so simply relaxed in the other man's arms and returned his hard, biting kisses with like enthusiasm. He remained unresisting as Aizen's commanding hands bared him and dragged him onto the former taichou's lap. Gin winced as he was hastily prepared, then flipped onto his hands and knees, and entered from behind in a single, hard thrust. He groaned wantonly, enjoying the slight pain of Aizen's fingers that dug into his hips, holding them tightly as he lovingly assaulted the silver-haired man's yielded bottom. Gin's head bowed his eyes tightly closed and his fingers clenching as he raised his hips eagerly to meet each melting thrust. His mind went nearly blank and his body quivered all over as Aizen found that most sensitive place inside him and struck repeatedly until the coil in Gin's belly snapped viciously and he collapsed beneath the other man, panting and moaning heatedly.

He flinched and his slitted eyes opened slightly as he felt Aizen's lips caress the back of his neck and one of his hands reached around to caress the swelling bump on his abdomen. His breath nearly stopped as Aizen's deep, contented voice sounded in his ear.

"Are you all right? I think I was overly vigorous."

"Don't worry," Gin chuckled, "I won't break."

"No, you are surprisingly resilient, aren't you?"

"Do you still wish I had died?"

"Oh, I assure you that if I still wished that, you wouldn't be alive and breathing, little snake. And understand that if you ever betray me again, I will end your life in a moment. But...for now, while we in this place, it is best for all of us if you and I work out our differences and bond properly to keep the child you carry stable."

"Is there something wrong with the baby?" Gin asked quickly.

"No. The baby is fine as far as I can tell. But if something did go wrong, we have no healer. I can heal some things, but more advanced healing will require someone more knowledgeable."

"Ah, of course," Gin sighed, closing his eyes as Aizen's hands caressed his belly, infusing the area with his reiatsu.

By the time the infusion ended, Gin was fast asleep in the other man's arms, leaving Aizen looking up through the branches of a blooming plum tree and into the darkening sky. He continued to rub the other man's belly as Gin slept, then rested, himself as Gin woke and took the next watch. Late into the night, the two rose and continued walking through the darkness, their eyes focused on the path ahead of them.

_Every step closer we get, the more I wonder if I should say something to him, Gin thought, And as much as that guy is the reason I was saved, I really don't know if he was telling the truth._

The more he considered it, the stronger his apprehension grew, until he could bear it no more and touched Aizen's arm gently to stop him on the trail.

"Sousuke," he began, "There is something..."

He paused, wincing as a sharp pain passed through his head and he swayed unsteadily for a moment.

"Gin?"

"Ah...I don't feel so..." the silver-haired man began.

He paused again as a sharper pain passed through his belly and his eyes clouded ominously.

"Gin!" Aizen said more stridently, catching him as he started to collapse.

He carried the slighter man to a small cluster of boulders, concealing the two of them in a reiatsu cage, then leaning over Gin and checking his vital signs.

"The baby's reiatsu seems fine," Aizen said, mostly to himself, "Perhaps you have just overextended yourself. Rest a bit, then."

He left Gin concealed in the reiatsu cage and foraged briefly in the area for nuts and berries, then returned and warmed some tea before nudging Gin into semi-wakefulness and feeding him sips of the tea and a few of the berries.

"What's happening?" Gin asked sleepily, "I can't seem to keep my eyes opened."

"Likely, everything is just catching up with you," concluded Aizen, sliding in behind him and offering him another stabilizing infusion, "You know, you were nearly killed. You weren't healed all that long ago. Then, to be thrown into this long trip on foot. And you were attacked before. It is surprising you have held up so well."

Gin made a sound of surprise as Aizen gathered him up in his arms, then shattered the protective cage.

"What are you doing? I can walk," he objected.

"Be quiet and rest more," Aizen chided him, "Don't waste your energy being difficult."

He had to admit to himself that he rather enjoyed the feeling of being held in those strong arms and carried, his head rested wearily on Aizen's shoulder and his arms looped around his lover's neck. He enjoyed, too, that several times as he closed his eyes and rested, he felt Aizen's lips touch his and heard whispers of reassurance. But weakness continued to nag at him and by the time they stopped so that Aizen could rest, he was sweating and feverish.

"What's going on?" he asked sleepily as Aizen set him down and looked him over before offering him another infusion.

"I am not sure," Aizen admitted, "The baby seems stable, but your body seems taxed. Still, the hougyoku indicated that we are close to the crossover point. I will just carry you there. Will there be someone to heal you when we arrive."

"I'm not sure."

A touch of kido sent him back into a comforting haze and he was lifted again and carried through the eerily quiet environs. Gin lost track of time, then, only waking briefly when Aizen stopped to offer him food, water or infusions of reiatsu, or when the other man raised a reiatsu cage to allow them both time to sleep. Gin wasn't sure how many hours or days might have passed that way. But some time later, he woke to find that Aizen had stopped again. The other man set him on his feet again and watched as he swayed for a moment, then steadied.

"The hougyoku indicated to me that it has sensed the crossover point," Aizen informed him, "You will need to open the way.

Gin nodded briefly, causing his head to spin for a moment. Aizen's hands steadied him, and Gin felt another flicker of guilt pass through him.

_I should say something. But what am I supposed to say?_

"Be careful," he said finally, "You should keep your guard up."

"I always do."

Gin bit his lip gently.

"I meant that even though your benefactor healed me and has helped us reach this point, we..."

"...would be reckless to assume that it's safe to lower our guard. I know," Aizen informed him, "You don't need to worry. I never had any intention of being fully trusting. Whoever this is, could just be trying to steal the hougyoku. And even with the hougyoku still fused with my soul, as you said earlier during this journey, there may be things in the spirit realm great enough to kill me. I understand. But we need to cross over."

"He should be waiting nearby on the other side," Gin said warningly, "but you will want to remember too that if you attack him, you are likely to be sensed by the king. We will be vulnerable to that after we pass over."

Aizen nodded briefly.

"Go ahead, then."

Gin extended his senses and found the crossover point, then touched a palm to the hougyoku, flinching and staring as a glowing door appeared in front of them and slowly opened. The two stepped through and paused to gain their bearings. Instantly, five flash steps sounded and five dark, malevolent looking forms appeared, surrounding them. Aizen started to react, but was stayed by Gin's touch on his arm.

"Wait."

"Why?" Aizen said in a low, angry tone, "Who are these...demons? Are these the ones you were working with? Do you have any idea...?"

_He did as I directed him, the hougyoku whispered in Aizen's mind, He did not betray you, nor did I. You see, these five are not what they appear to be. They have been made into demons by the soul king._

"By the soul king?" Aizen mused, "What do you mean? Who are these people if they are not demons?"

_These are the former royal guardsmen...Oetsu, Hikifune, Ichibei, Kirinji and Shutara, made over into demons by the one who attacked the king._

"The...?"

_The true king, the hougyoku went on, You see, some time ago, there was an attack on the true king and ever since, he and his guardsmen have been banished here and waiting for the chance to reclaim their places. But to do that, they needed me and they needed you._

"That is why I am here? To return the old king to the throne?" Aizen mused, "Why would I do that? I was here before. I knew of the old king and I plotted against him. Why would he ever think that I would help him? I wanted to kill him!"

"Nevertheless," said Ichibei, the largest of the demons facing him, "His majesty wishes to speak with you. You are free to take what action you will after you speak to him."

"You should come with me," Kirinji said to Gin, "You look about done in."

"Gin is not to leave my side," Aizen said firmly, "If you wish to heal him, then you will do so in my presence."

"Hey, no need to get testy," chuckled Kirinji, "Just because he changed our form doesn't mean we've lost our minds. We eventually will, if we stay in this form too much longer, but right now, we are stabilized."

"Fine, but Gin stays with me."

"Whatever. Let's get going."

Aizen moved forward, surprising Gin by lifting him off his feet again.

"You don't have to do that," Gin complained, "I am feeling all right."

"Just shut up and let him carry you," Kirinji said shortly, falling in with them, "It'll keep you quieter and let me heal you as we walk."

"How much farther is it?"

"Oh, not far," ichibei assured him.

"Here," Hikifune said, handing the two shinigamis each a large rice ball, "That should help you pick up and feel better. You must be tired and hungry after such a long trip."

Aizen studied one of the rice balls for a moment as Gin held it, then he nodded briefly.

"I don't sense anything dangerous," he concluded, smiling briefly as Gin fed him a bite, then took one, himself.

The group walked quietly through the darkness, passing through a quiet forest and emerging into a valley dotted with hills, cliffs and a number of dark caves.

"We cleared this area of the demons that nested here," Shutara explained, "and we made a place for ourselves here. I placed a barrier the usurper cannot sense us through, so once we passed through it back there, we became reasonably safe from discovery."

"So, this usurper still seeks to do you harm?"

"He would keep trying to kill us," Ichibei said darkly, "Turning us into this travesty was only a half-step to destroying us, which is what he really wanted."

"But you say that the hougyoku can free you?"

"In part, it is what we need, but his majesty will explain when we arrive. It isn't much farther."

They crossed the quiet valley, their feet scraping softly on the rocky ground they covered, then began a short climb up one of the rocky hills. They reached a cave entrance and moved inside, following a trail into a maze of tunnels.

"We are careful not to leave a clear path, even though the barrier is some protection," Ichibei explained.

The guardsmen moved out ahead of Aizen and Gin, leading them out of the maze and into a small room that opened into a larger one. As they entered, a taller demon with dark red skin and glowing golden eyes stepped into their path. He locked eyes with Aizen as the former taichou set Gin back on his feet and observed the transformed monarch appraisingly.

"Welcome home," the demon said, looking into Aizen Sousuke's eyes, "segare (my son)."


	8. Return of the Dark Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The false king begins to invade Gin's mind as Aizen prepares to help him become transcendent.

"Welcome home, segare."

As the demon spoke, Gin made a sound of distress and his legs collapsed beneath him. He felt Aizen's arms catch him, then lift him again, then he was carried a short distance, swiftly disrobed and dressed in a fresh yukata, before being laid down in a wonderfully soft bed made up with cool, clean smelling linens. Aizen watched closely as Kirinji leaned over him, examining him briefly, then began a healing infusion.

"Will he be all right?" asked the demon-king.

"Yeah," Kirinji said, nodding, "He's just tired, underfed and a little beat up is all. He'll perk up with rest and some food. Kirio and I will take care of him."

"Are you sure that he and the baby are all right?" Aizen asked quietly.

"They're fine. He's just tapped out. A little infusion, some food and rest and he'll be up and slithering around in no time. But you and his majesty need to talk."

"Of course," Aizen said, turning his attention back to the demon, "You were saying?"

The demon smiled.

"My apologies for the sudden revelation, but you must realize the effect that your coming here has on all of us. We have been unable to do anything much but wait while the wheels of fate spun around you and Ichimaru Gin."

"And why is Gin so instrumental to your plans?" Aizen asked, narrowing his eyes, "In his current state, he is unable to do much beyond carry the heir. But you know that. I hope you do not plan to suggest to me that his part in this ended once he acted as the key to bring me through the doorway."

"No, Gin's importance in what is happening is extreme. His fate is the forerunner of our own. Whatever we do from this point, we must not allow him to fall under the influence of the false king. For, if he does give in to the demon king's influence, both he and the heir will be lost."

"How so?" Aizen asked, frowning, "What is it that will make the false king seek him out? It seems there is more to this than simply killing the rightful king."

"There is," the demon confirmed, "You see, although the usurper was able to steal power from me and to cause the royal guardsmen and me to be transformed, he has not secured the absolute right to act as king. Kingship can only be fully gained by being accepted by the spirits housed within the king's prism, an artifact that the usurper now keeps with him at all times to prevent us from having any opportunity to restore ourselves."

"You say that the demon needs the approval of the spirits within the prism?" Aizen queried, "Who are those spirits, and how did they come to be in the prism? What exactly is the prism that it has so much influence over the transfer of rightful power?"

"The king's prism," the demon explained, "is a device that was conceived by the first incarnation of the soul king to give protection and insight to future leaders as leadership was passed down through the ages. When an incarnation of the king dies, his soul and that of his mate are pulled into the prism and protected. From within that protection, they can offer reigning kings enhanced power, wisdom and insight to assist them in carrying out their duties. But there is one more critical thing the prism does. It protects the kingship from being stolen by existing to legitimate monarchs as they rise to power. And to be accepted by the prism, the demon usurper would need to inhabit a royal body. He isn't royal, so he has yet to be truly confirmed."

"And how does his confirmation involve Gin and the heir?" Aizen asked, a thin shaft of discomfort touching his insides as he considered the possible answers.

"Gin and the baby are involved because, first, Gin is the bearer of the royal heir and, secondly, while being carried, the heir is vulnerable to being corrupted and used to wrongfully legitimate that demon."

"How would he do that?"

"He would need to obtain both Gin and the hougyoku," the demon explained, "Right now, they are separate. But before Gin can birth the heir, as king's mate, he must be caused to transcend, using the power of the hougyoku. He must become a divine being before the prism will accept him as part of the royal family."

"But something tells me that the usurper can do something to alter that process," Aizen surmised.

"Yes. As I said, we must cause Gin's body to transcend before the birth of the heir. If we do not do that, the forces within his body will be so affected by the heir's growing power that he will be overwhelmed and die from the shock on his systems. Part of the reason that he is currently struggling physically is that the heir's power is growing quickly inside him."

"So, we really must see to his transcendence now, but when we do this, we will put him in the tenuous position of being caught between our will and the will of the usurper."

"Yes," the demon confirmed.

"And how do I know that you are not just lying to me about all of this?" Aizen asked pointedly, "You have as much reason to lie to me and try to deceive me as the usurper. What if all of this is a lie? What if you are not actually the rightful king? You could be planning to use Gin yourself."

"I will admit to you now that one way for the royal guard and me to be restored to power would be for us to kill the bearer and use the growing reiatsu to remake our bodies as they were before. That process requires growing natural divine reiatsu, which is only found in a developing heir. This is what the imposter would do if he captured Gin, although capturing Gin would do no good until he is made divine."

"So, it would be better for us to wait on transforming him...but the longer we wait..."

"The more likely that the heir's developing power will overcome Gin and he will die. We are reaching a critical point. We need to transform Gin now and then protect him carefully from that point until we can secure the king's prism and use it to make you king."

"Hmmm, you say, make me king?" Aizen mused thoughtfully, "And what of you and the royal guards? Didn't you say that you wanted to be restored?"

"I do," the demon agreed, "But the truth is, even if restored, I am not going to have the power to defeat the usurper. You will have that power, once you are confirmed by the prism. You are the better choice to assume the throne. I will relinquish it to you and pass into the prism to join my forebears. This is the only way we will win. If we do this, then the royal guards and I will be restored."

"But you will die."

"No. I will simply become part of the prism's consciousness."

"But, if you are lying to me, then you could still be aiming to use Gin yourself. How am I to know whether you are telling me the truth?"

He paused as Kirinji re-entered the room, wearing a perplexed expression.

"What is it?" the demon asked quickly.

"It's the bearer," the guardsman explained, "It seems that the journey here has weakened his body and he is even closer to succumbing to the heir's power than I originally thought. Your majesty, we are running out of time. If we do not transform him soon, we are going to lose him, and another will have to be sought."

"Ah," the demon said regretfully, "I was worried about this."

"It is because he risked himself to protect me before," Aizen concluded, "I realized that it was a terrible strain on his body, though I had no idea then what role that would play. So, now, we are at a crossroads."

"We are. You must decide now if you will use the hougyoku to transform him. You must both will it to happen or he will not transcend."

"I will go to him, then. There is no good in waiting anymore."

"Very well," said the demon, "Once you have caused Gin to transcend, return to me and I will share with you the story of your past, and how exactly that imposter stole the throne."

"I will return shortly then," Aizen said, turning and flash stepping out of the room.

Kirinji met the demon's eyes warily.

"What is it?"

"I'm concerned about transforming Gin now. He is weak."

"And getting weaker. You know we can't avoid this."

"No. But...if he cannot transform..."

"Then he could hollowfy."

"Or become a demon, himself," Kirinji concluded, "This is damned dangerous."

"But it is unavoidable. You understand that, ne?"

"Yeah, but I don't like it. If he hollowfies, once the hougyoku is sacrificed, we will have to kill him and find someone else."

"But killing Gin would turn my son against us. You know that."

"Uh-huh. That's why I'm staying here and letting them be alone for this."

"Yes," the demon agreed, "This is all we can do for now. But...you and the others should position yourselves...just in case."

"Yes, your majesty," Kirinji said, bowing, then flash stepping away.

The demon sighed softly, closing his eyes for a moment.

"The moment of our fate approaches swiftly," he whispered, "Choose wisely, segare, or we all will perish."

XXXXXXXXXX

_Gin found himself wandering in crawling shadows. He could see just enough to know that he was outside, and walking through a garden that would have been entrancingly beautiful in the daytime. But the area felt as though a blanket of darkness laid over it. And there was something in that darkness that watched him._

_"Sousuke?" he breathed tentatively._

_It was strange, he thought, to feel fear again, having had to stamp it out long ago...first to survive the lower Rukongai, then to walk at the side of the most dangerous shinigami who had ever drawn breath._

_And this presence, he realized, with a shiver, was darker inside than even Aizen had been._

_He knew immediately that it wanted only his death._

_But even knowing that, couldn't make his feet move as he sensed the monster sniffing the air, then slowly smiling as he sensed Gin's presence. Gin wanted to run, to scream, to do anything but just stand frozen, yet his body refused to respond, even as the darkness around him was split with blinding light, and he was left helplessly staring as the usurper king stalked closer, then paused and looked down into his widened eyes._

_"Ichimaru Gin?" the king said, his deep, compelling voice sinking down into Gin's chilled body and causing a spreading numbness that made his pounding heart beat even faster and weakened his legs until they shook uncharacteristically under him, "You look terrified. Why are you afraid?"_

_Gin swallowed hard and summoned all of his courage. He placed a hand on his rounded belly protectively._

_"I know already that you want to kill us," he said with surprising calm._

_"Kill you?" the king said, smiling so hungrily that Gin's reflexes finally took over and he turned to run._

_But the king's hand touched his shoulder and Gin's legs gave way. The king caught him up and gazed heatedly into his eyes again, sending that odd numbness through him again and overwhelming his senses so that, while he could feel his own fear keenly, he couldn't respond with his body._

_"Why would I want to kill you...or the child you carry?"_

_"I feel it," Gin whispered, soft shivers going through him as he read the iciness behind the king's calm smile._

_"You feel the intensity of voracious need," the king explained, "Don't be afraid. Come now. There is something I need from you."_

_"N-no..." Gin panted, struggling against the feeling of weakness that had flooded him, "No, you're lying!"_

_"You are mistaken," the king said soothingly, "That traitor has confused you. Come, Gin, I will clear your mind of that confusion and make you smile once more. You remember what it feels like to be happy, ne?"_

_Gin swallowed hard as images of himself, smiling and laughing with a chatty Rangiku flashed in his mind._

_"She is here," the king told him, sending another hard shiver down his spine._

_"Was that meant to convince me," Gin asked, trying to keep his voice steady, "or are you trying to scare me by threatening her?"_

_"Why would I need to threaten her?" the king asked smoothly, turning back towards the palace, "She has...been hurt enough, ne? She only recently had her powers returned, courtesy of the hougyoku, isn't that right?"_

_"I don't..."_

"Oh no, no, no," the monarch admonished him, touching a staying finger to his lips, "I know that your lips know little more than how to lie, so I needn't hear a word. Come now."

_"Let me go!" Gin snapped, tearing free and falling from the king's arms._

He landed in his hands and knees and backed away as the king's body began to glow with eerie red light and his lips curled in rising fury. Red fire swelled around his hands that began to look more like sharp claws, and he snarled menacingly. __

_"Do you think you can escape me! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE!"_

"NO!" screamed Gin, surging to his feet and fleeing towards the door to the room he was in.

Immediately, strong arms captured and held him tightly, and Aizen's soothing voice sounded in his ear.

"What's this? I don't think I've ever seen you look so frightened, not even when I was about to kill you. Are you all right?"

"He has her! He h-has Rangiku!" Gin gasped, blinking to try to bring the room and Aizen's face into focus.

"Shh, calm down," Aizen whispered, "No one has Rangiku. She's safe in the..."

"How do you know?" Gin demanded, "He said that...!"

"It was just a dream," Aizen reassured him, "You are merely anxious, Gin. You need to lie down and rest. This isn't good for the baby."

"Sousuke, he said that...!"

"It was just a dream. It wasn't real," Aizen insisted, lacing their fingers together and rubbing his distressed lover's rounded belly gently with his other hand, "Everything is fine. Rest now, ne?"

Gin went silent, his eyes nearly closing as he worked to slow his breathing and forced himself to relax in Aizen's careful embrace.

"That's better. Let me help you back into bed. You look a few shades more pale than usual."

"I'm all right now," Gin aid, trying to pull away, but only being pulled into an amorous kiss, then taken off his feet and sent back into senselessness by a swiftly delivered kido spell.

Aizen's dark eyes studied him carefully as he laid the silver-haired man back in bed, then turned to the closely watching demon behind him.

"This isn't good," Kirinji growled softly.

"You don't think that the usurper actually took Rangiku, do you?"

"It doesn't matter," the guardsman said, crossing his arms, "If he's speaking into your buddy's mind and making him have nightmares, then he's not far from getting his hands on Gin. You know that as soon as he transcends, the real fight will begin."

"And we must help him transcend soon," Aizen sighed, "if we don't want him to be overcome."

He thought silently for a moment, then regarded the guardsman quietly.

"Should we begin the procedure?"

"No," Kirinji said darkly, "His little anxiety fit left his reiatsu and the baby's ruffled. We need to get their reiatsu under control, then we'll talk about what to do next. We need to be ready."

"We will be ready for whatever he wants to try," Aizen mused darkly.

"Yeah?" Kirinji said worriedly, shooting a glance back at Gin, "Are you going to be ready to deal with what your boyfriend, there, does? Because what just happened tells me that he's starting to come a little unhinged. If he loses it and..."

"He won't," Aizen said sternly, cutting off the other man's words and earning another dark stare in reply, "Whatever it takes to protect Gin and our baby, I will do."


	9. Die With Lips Smiling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aizen guides Gin into transcendence.

"Gin?"

_There is death in that voice._

_Why am I not afraid?_

"Gin, are you able to hear me?"

He could barely manage the strength to turn the edges of his lips upward, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

"You can hear me. Good. Listen carefully."

A warm hand slipped into his and squeezed gently.

"Kirinji has explained to me that the reason you are declining is that you are a shinigami who is carrying a transcendent child," Aizen's voice intoned.

Gin felt a trickle of fear run up and down his spine, but couldn't move to object to what he knew must be coming.

"If you are to survive carrying the heir any longer, you must transcend."

The silver-haired shinigami's mind went back to Karakura Town, and the slow evolution Aizen had gone through.

_I didn't see the most horrific part, but Rangiku did, and her description only reassured me that, just as I didn't want to be hollowfied before, I didn't want to transcend either. I was born a shinigami. I may not have been born noble or powerful, but I was comfortable being myself. To change who I am that much...would I lose myself like Tousen Kaname did? The way he corrupted himself, I couldn't do that. I could never do that. I'm fine with who I am._

"Gin, your body is showing signs of distress," Aizen's voice spoke softly into his ear, "I know that, of all of us who went to Hueco Mundo, you were the one who did not want to change. While Kaname and I were willing to shed our shinigami skin and grow beyond it, you were comfortable with yourself and didn't want to change. Maybe you still feel that way and this frightens you. There are good reasons why you would not want to transcend, and I accept that. I always have. You fascinate me that way. Most others I knew before could be easily swayed by promises of power or riches. You've always been different. I don't always know what drives you. I've learned what you were willing to do for Rangiku, and it leads me to believe that there are people you care deeply about and would do anything for. You love the child inside you, I know. You want to protect our child and, just as with Rangiku, you would make great sacrifices to do that. This is the sacrifice you must make, Gin. You must give up your shinigami form and transcend. Will you agree to this?"

Gin's mind disappeared into the past for a time, and he felt the return of the thin, quiet boy he had been, one whose young blue eyes peered out from within dark, hidden places and observed the true ugliness in the world. He remembered what it was like to ache from hunger inside, to steal from another hungry person to survive, for his skin to grow numb with cold, to feel the deep down chill of mortal fear at the sound of an approaching hollow.

_I wasn't strong then. I had to beg and steal just to stay alive and to keep Rangiku from dying. It wasn't until this man entered our world and took something from her that I really wanted more. I wanted strength to protect her, to fight for her, to get back what he had taken. I thought that entering the academy and becoming a part of the Gotei 13 would accomplish that. But even as I grew stronger, I didn't really change inside. I've always been that too thin boy, reaching beyond his means to survive. But this body can't protect Rangiku, this child I carry or even my own soul. So, even though I've always been terrified of the thing he created, the hougyoku, I have to let it swallow up my weaker self and I have to change._

_There's no other answer._

Gin's eyelids fluttered and his eyes slowly opened and focused on the ones looking down at him.

_It's terrifying to look into those eyes. It's like falling into oblivion. I used to think that Sousuke's eyes were empty because his soul was empty. But that isn't it at all. Sousuke's eyes are like the things I used to hide behind when I was a kid in the Rukongai, just a barrier he hides within so that people won't see him._

_I didn't care before about really seeing him. I just wanted to take back something he stole and I wanted to run away from him. I was ready to let my life be snuffed out just to get what I wanted and some part of me knew that he would kill me. He tried in Karakura Town and he failed._

_But he'll do it this time and he'll do so looking into my eyes. I would have hidden them before, but I don't want to now. It's like this doorway we're passing through is one that will bind us together forever. I was scared of being that close to him before, but I want to now. Because all the while I was so afraid of Sousuke and thought he was a monster, I didn't understand. He used to be small too...and he hid in dark places to protect himself. He was trying to survive and hurt other people to do that. He had people he wanted to protect...and now, this kid and I are the ones. Some part of me knows he would step through any doorway to do that...and that same part of me knows I have to be willing to do that too._

_Yeah, it's okay._

_Whatever happens, it's okay._

_I heard them say I might not be strong enough. So, this could be the last time I look into those eyes of his. I wonder what I'll see when I fall into them. I wonder if I'll ever come out again. Whatever happens...if I live or if I die, I'll feel him all around me._

_That's not so bad._

"Gin?"

"I understand. Go ahead, Sousuke."

_Yeah, there's death in those beautiful eyes._

_And there's no escaping them._

He looked in deeper as an icy glow lit the black pupils, then power began to radiate within the hougyoku and Gin's very skin began to burn.

_Any change I ever went through was painful._

_But this...is a thousand times worse!_

He felt a hand take hold of his and Aizen's deep, tranquil voice reached down into the maelstrom inside him, calming him, anchoring him as his body began to die.

_It feels like being swallowed alive by flame...watching as it melts your body, breathing in the fire and screaming until your lungs are gone...until everything turns to ash and you haven't time for a last thought. There's just fear, absolute terror._

He thought he might come apart and he could suddenly hear the sound of his own screams of agony.

"His reiatsu is real unstable," Kirinji's voice said from somewhere nearby, "You need to use yours to bring it back into balance."

_He's scared._

_He should be._

_I can feel deep down that I'm just this side of becoming a monster. Worse than a hollow, a demon like the king made them. I feel that awful blackness trying to swallow me whole._

_Sousuke..._

For a time, Gin's mind went blank and everything around him went silent. Somehow he knew that he was still screaming in pain and that he'd come to his feet and white fire was exploding from his body. Though he couldn't see or hear or feel a thing, he knew the two men in the room were risking their lives just being close to him. The raw power that radiated around him incinerated the things in the room, burned away his clothes and forced Aizen and the demon-bodied guardsman back. He could feel their shocked eyes staring at him as he screamed again and dropped to his knees.

_I don't want to be a monster._

_Sousuke, I don't want this!_

"Sousuke! He's not going to make it!" Kirinji's voice roared, "You have to end it now!"

Gin sucked in a terrified breath and froze as his eyes cleared and he could see again. He found himself naked and singed, kneeling in front of Aizen, whose transcendent body was likewise naked and burned. The contents of the room they had been in laid, tumbled and broken all around them, and the very walls were cracked and scorched.

"No," Aizen's voice said quietly, "I have him. He'll be fine now."

And to Gin's relief, he could, once again, feel the other man's arms around him, could see those brown eyes looking into his and feel that stronger soul anchoring his. He let go of everything then and collapsed entirely, barely aware as he was lifted and carried somewhere else, plunged down into hot water and washed clean, dressed in a fresh yukata and lain in bed again.

_Don't go._

_I don't know who I am anymore. That person I was is gone and I don't know myself yet. But you haven't changed, Sousuke. Your eyes still look the same. Your hands still feel the same when they touch me and there is affection in your voice when you speak to me. You know me, even though I don't know myself. You love me, even though I became a monster. You're not afraid of monsters, are you? You have them all around you, but you're stronger than they are, so it's the monsters who fear you._

_I love you._

He sank down into a deep, restorative sleep, clinging to that other warm body that curled around his like a snake and refused to uncoil. Aizen's fingers laced together with his and his breath tickled Gin's cheek as he drifted in and out of awareness, cognizant of nothing but the continued closeness of that other radiating presence.

Aizen's hand left his to caress his even more rounded abdomen and Gin strained to understand his words.

"When you transcended, your cells changed rapidly, causing the reiatsu within you to mature more quickly. It shouldn't be much longer and our child will be born, Gin."

_I want to believe that once our kid's born, he or she'll be safe. But it will be dangerous even then. The false king wants our baby. That's why he keeps trying to lure me to him. That's why he told me he has Rangiku. Because we are trapped in the protected zone, we can't look into that other world and divine whether or not he's telling the truth._

_And who am I kidding?_

If he has Rangiku, he'll kill her and me and take the baby anyway. I can't do anything but wait right now.

"Try to eat something, Gin," Aizen's voice said quietly.

Strong arms lifted him so that he was sitting and he felt his mind clearing again. He blinked slowly, taking in the new room, the rumble in his stomach as he scented the food in front of him, and Aizen's continued presence.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Well," Gin said, regaining some of his usual humor, "I don't feel dead, so that's something, ne?"

My throat and chest feel sore from screaming.

"You look radiant."

"I feel horrid."

"That's to be expected. You only just transcended."

"Where are we?" Gin asked, looking around, "This place...feels different. Are we...?"

"We had to move as soon as you were stable. He knows what's happened, and he is going to continue to try to lure you away from us. He will attack us if he senses where we are. But don't think about those things, Gin. Let us worry about our protection and you just focus on our child. Our baby is safe inside you and very soon, he or she will be born.

He fed Gin another bite of food and Gin sighed contentedly.

"This is amazing!"

"It was made by Hikifune Kirio," Aizen explained, "It is densely packed with transcendent reiatsu that will fill you and keep you more stable. And don't be surprised if you eat substantially more than usual. You are adjusting to your new form."

"I don't feel so much different," Gin commented, glancing into a mirror across the room, "And I don't look different."

"Your powers are under a limiter. You need some time for your body to align with its new ability, but in a few days, we should be able to remove the limiter and you will feel the difference more profoundly then."

"Did I hurt you?" Gin asked suddenly.

Aizen smiled.

"Why would you be worried about something like that?" he chuckled.

"You were naked and burned too."

"I am fine. Don't think about that."

Gin flinched as something came back to him, a flash of memory of how Aizen had looked, kneeling in front of him. Frowning, he reached out and drew back the edge of Aizen's yukata, gasping as his eyes found no sign of the hougyoku in the other man's unblemished chest.

"Sousuke!"

"Don't panic."

"This means you are...?"

"It doesn't matter anyway," Aizen assured him.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Gin argued, stiffening, "You were immortal! You could protect our baby!"

"I couldn't protect our baby if you didn't live to give birth, Gin," Aizen said, shaking his head, "And realize that the hougyoku was something that my father inspired me to create. He placed the knowledge into my reiatsu when he created me, so that I would invent the hougyoku and use it to transcend, then I would use it to choose my mate and bring forth my child. It was never meant for us to hide behind it. And this demon that inhabits the palace could have overcome its power and killed me anyway. We are, none of us safe, but we can't think about that."

Gin went silent for several long minutes, staring blindly at the plate in his lap and feeling terrified again.

"It's so odd," Aizen mused, caressing Gin's pale cheek gently, "seeing you this afraid."

"I was always afraid," Gin confessed, "I just hid it behind things...smiling, deceptive words, smoke and mirrors. But I was always afraid. There's just nowhere to hide that anymore. Sorry if that bothers you."

"It doesn't. And it doesn't mean that you don't have courage, Gin. You just sense the danger around you and you have a very human response to it. I don't find that unattractive. It makes me feel different. I didn't let my guard down before. I always protected just myself and trusted no one. But that's changed."

"I don't want it to," Gin whispered, closing his eyes, "because that's what made you stronger and kept you alive. If you start weakening yourself because of us..."

"Don't talk like that."

"It's so strange. Before, I wanted you to die," Gin confessed, "but now, I'm scared to death you will! I'm more scared of that than I am of dying myself. I didn't expect to live!"

"It's going to be fine," Aizen promised, "Now that you have transcended, we can focus on our protection, and on how to bring that demon down."

"He's going to kill you, Sousuke," Gin panted, panic coursing through him and making him shake all over, "He's obsessed with killing you and taking our...!"

"Shh," Aizen hissed softly, embracing him tightly, "Do you really think I will allow that to happen? I'm surprised."

"You let me stab you through the heart and poison you."

"And still, I didn't die. And I won't now. Just don't think about that. Eat, drink, rest and grow strong, Gin. And whatever you do, don't listen to what he says. As much as you think everything rests on my strength, much of it rests with you. Close your mind to him. Don't let him confuse you. His voice will get louder and more insistent as the time for the heir's birth draws closer. He becomes desperate, and he will do anything to legitimate himself. You must not let him reach you. If he possesses you, we are all going to die."

"How does he speak to me? Why do I hear him?" Gin asked numbly.

"Right now, for the moment, he is the reigning monarch, but he does not have his full powers because he has not been legitimated by the king's prism. Only once he is can he fully ascend to kingship. But he needs you to do that, and he needs to capture you before the first day of our child's life has come to a close. If any later, the child's soul will be firmly housed in his or her body and will not be able to be used as sacrifice. So, he must move, must act somehow to capture you before then. It's a dangerous time, Gin."

"I understand."

Aizen's warm lips met his cooler ones for a lingering kiss.

"Don't give it any more thought. Focus on our baby and let that be the most important thing. If he speaks to you, that will be the thing that will best protect you. Focus on our baby and shut everything else out."

Gin nodded silently and turned his attention back to the food in front of him. His body relaxed in stages, gradually losing the feeling of panic and finding comfort in feeling warm and full and, for the moment, safe.

But all feelings of safety left him and cold shafts of ice ran through his heart after Aizen left his side and the false king's voice returned to him.

_He is lying to you._

_Remember how he did it before? He brought you and the others close to him and lied to you so that he could use you._

_You discarded your loved ones and followed him so that you could kill him. And he deserves to die. You know what a monster he is, Gin. He is wicked. That has not changed. And time is growing short. Before the baby is born, he will turn on you. And with those same eyes as before, he will kill you._

_You always knew he would._

_Come to me, Gin._

_Come to me._

_Come to me and I will protect you._

"You can't protect me," Gin whispered, laying a hand on his belly and closing his eyes against the tears that threatened, "No one can. I belong to Aizen Sousuke, whatever fate that brings. I let go of everything else and gave myself to him completely. If he is lying to me now, I don't want to know the truth, and if he's going to kill me, I don't want to live."


End file.
